


Dark Paradise

by Ladytalon



Series: The Doctors Light [21]
Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-23
Updated: 2015-04-23
Packaged: 2018-03-25 10:05:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3806416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladytalon/pseuds/Ladytalon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to <a href="http://midnightatnoon.livejournal.com/142300.html">No Curtain Call</a>. <b>EARTH-14</b></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

The horror of the Anti-Life Equation has run its course, and the world is still picking up the pieces. Arthur has to pick up more than most – he's had to tell Kimiyo's two children that their mother is dead, and that it's his fault. 

Neither Imako nor Yasu have had much to say to him since Arthur collected them from the Justice Hall foyer. He doesn't blame them a bit. Kara is still recuperating from her exposure to the Equation and Kimiyo's apartment has been looted, so he asks Eobard to help him salvage as much of the family's things as possible after the funeral. Fire damage from a few neighboring apartments has caused some structural instability, further supporting his decision to move the kids in with him.

His apartment had been suitable for his purposes before it had been blown up; mainly eating, sleeping, plotting, and the occasional card game when it was his turn to host Poker Night. Now, in the same neighborhood in another (worse) apartment and with two children under the age of twelve living with him, Arthur is forced to reassess his surroundings. He's moved out of the bedroom so that they can have it and everywhere he looks something appalling is hiding beneath the stacks of old newspapers Arthur never quite got around to throwing away, or under the couch cushions.

The neighborhood is completely unsuitable for them and, even though he's made the rounds and warned everyone off, there's always a chance that someone will…. Well, he doesn't even _know_ what but his imagination goes wild every single time he steps into the street.

It's time to move.

Calculator starts searching real estate listings for him in exchange for a copy of Kimiyo's League files, which may or may not include Oracle's IP address, and Arthur begins to set up lesson plans for Yasu and Imako since the looters didn't seem to want their schoolbooks. He ignores the groaning that results from his announcement that he'll teach them until their schools are opened again. Rising Sun doesn't seem to care that his ex-wife is dead, and can't be bothered to see his children… Arthur's on his own.

He doesn't feel right about using stolen money to pay for the new place, a large four-bedroom townhome in Blůdhaven, so he surprises the local bank manager by actually applying for a loan instead of robbing the place. Unsurprisingly, Arthur is approved the second he hands back the finished paperwork – he makes a mental note to leave this particular bank alone. "Those are some fine-looking kids you've got there, Mist- uh, Doctor Light," the bank manager stammers in a desperate attempt to make small talk.

Arthur lifts his eyes from the mortgage information pamphlet. "Yes."

"If you'll just sign this, we can get you on your way." The man pauses, a horrified expression on his face. "N-not that we're anxious that you… of course, I just meant-"

"It's fine," Arthur assures him, unable to keep amusement from his voice. 

With the paperwork finished and the certified check in his wallet, he walks out and stops to wake Yasu, who has fallen asleep in the lobby. Imako looks up from her bored perusal of the 401-K literature. "Can we go now?"

"Yes, we're done." Arthur glances back at the big clock hanging above the teller line, making at least three of them cringe. "Do you want to go look at our new house, or have lunch first?"

Yasu shoves his fists into his pockets. "Whatever."

Imako chews on her bottom lip. "I wanna pick out my room," she whispers so softly that he can barely hear her, looking down at her shoes when her brother glares at her.

He takes them outside, away from the stares of the bank employees, and digs a quarter out of his pocket for a nearby payphone. Sighing at the thought that he'll have to purchase cellphones for all three of them so that he knows where they are at all times; it would be so much easier to microchip them like pets, but apparently that's illegal. Arthur calls the realtor – Noah's cousin – and they quickly arrange a meeting with the townhome's current owner in the next hour. He's not familiar enough with the place to teleport over but the morning is a comfortably cool one, so they walk. Halfway there they spot a hotdog vendor and Imako tugs on his pants leg beseechingly, so they stop for lunch. "Do you want me to make one up for your mom?" the man asks Yasu, whose head swivels towards Arthur at this unexpected question.

Imako ducks her head, sucking at her straw and reaching up to curl her fingers around one of Arthur's belt loops as he hands over a ten. "C'mon, let's go."

Jeremy Cuttler is waiting for them outside as they arrive, and smiles in greeting. "Fast-tracked you, huh? What'd you do, threaten to rob the place?"

"Not exactly. Are we ready to close?"

"You bet we are, boss." Jeremy coughs self-consciously. "There _is_ something we should probably talk about."

Arthur gives him a look that makes him take a step backward. "We already agreed on your commission."

The other man holds up his clipboard as if it's a shield. "N-no, it's not that. It's just…"

"Just _what?_ "

"Homeowner's Association."

Cuttler holds out a sheet of paper, and he snatches it. "What about it?"

"It's…a little mandatory. Next meeting's this coming Monday."

Arthur crumples the paper in his fist and tossing it in Yasu's general direction. "Here's some fuel for the burn pile. What's next, Neighborhood Watch?" 

"Actually-"

"Don't even say it." 

The kids run around the townhouse and out into the fenced-in yard while they conduct the mind-numbing business of closing on the property. The owner offers to let him keep the larger appliances and the couch. Two hours later, when the house is theirs and every inch of the place has been mapped out and memorized, Arthur goes to find the children. "Well?"

"I like our apartment better," Yasu says, forestalling his sister's gushing praise over her new room. "Not the one you're making us live in now. _Our_ apartment."

"I know," he replies quietly. "I know you do."

"Did you even talk to our father? If you did, he would have come for us." The boy whirls to look out the window. "I want to call him."

Arthur promises that he'll call Rising Sun as soon as they get back – Yasu looks at him as if thinking that he's being lied to, and he sighs inwardly as he teleports all three of them back. "Grab as much of your stuff as you can and dump it into a pile" he looks around before settling on the grimy patch of carpet just behind the couch and pointing "there. I want to be out of here before midnight."

"You said I could call Father," Yasu reminds him.

"You know where the phone is."

Arthur rummages through the main closet for a few blankets that have seen better days, spreading them on the floor behind the couch. Imako stays to watch him for a few minutes, then trots into the bedroom to bring him her pillow. "Can you send this to my room first?" the little girl asks. "Do you remember where it is?"

"Absolutely." He takes the pillow from her hands and makes a show of closing his eyes to concentrate, hearing her stifled giggle. Forming the image of her new bedroom in his mind, Arthur adds the pillow to the mental picture and _sends_ it. It disappears from his hands and he waits until Imako goes back for her things before stepping into the bathroom. He 'ports over just to be sure the pillow made it; he's best at teleporting himself, and moving separate objects has never been his strong suit… but the pillow somehow made it there, so he goes back.

Moving is easier now that he's hit on a way to avoid physically picking things up and carrying them one place to another. He's unfortunately limited to teleporting objects that are off the ground, so the heavier furniture has to stay behind. Yasu is still talking on the phone, huddled in the corner and glancing over at Arthur self-consciously… he doesn't know enough Japanese to understand the boy, but Rising Sun is obviously telling Yasu something he doesn't want to hear. Yasu's voice breaks as he hangs up the phone, and he just nods silently when Arthur asks them if they're ready to leave.

They troop down the steps with him to return the keys to the landlord (who is furious about losing a tenant), and then he teleports all three of them to their new home. Thankfully, the electricity has been turned on – not that _he_ couldn't light the place if he wanted to. Arthur's too tired from the energy expenditure to do any cooking, and everything still has to be sorted and put away properly, so he orders pizza for the kids and he falls asleep as they're watching old black and white movies on one of the cable channels.

When he wakes up a few hours later, both Imako and Yasu are curled up on the couch with him. Arthur rubs at his eyes and peers at the clock, which reads 1:30 a.m. Careful lifting gets the children off of the couch and into their rooms, and he makes the sudden decision to visit their mother's grave. He doesn't have flowers to place on the headstone, but he does have a few spare lightbulbs so Arthur pockets one and teleports to Ridgeview Cemetery.

The air is brisk enough to make him wish he'd brought a jacket, but he walks through the stone gates anyway. It's clear and cold, the moon a sliver lighting his way on the paved path leading to her plot; the custodian looks to have just mowed, judging by the detritus spattered on headstones, and the mess clings to his jeans as Arthur moves to find Kimiyo.

It's been almost a month since her funeral, and a handful of weeks more since she died in the explosion. "One month, two weeks, and four days," he recites aloud. He comes to her plot and sinks to his haunches, staring at the rose marble headstone. _Kimiko Hoshi - beloved daughter, wife, and mother_. The words are repeated in Kanji, along with several characters Arthur doesn't recognize, and he's reminded yet again that Raiden Tazu had insisted upon orchestrating the funeral – and banning Arthur from it. Her father had never accepted many of Kimiyo's life choices, including that of her name change and divorce from Izumi Yasunari. In the end, he hadn't even attended the funeral he tried so hard to keep Arthur from.

He closes his eyes and breathes in the night air, remembering watching from a shield of invisibility as the coffin was lowered into the ground, strewn with cherry blossoms that were so clearly out of season. Kimiyo had loved them, Arthur thinks, wishing he had some to give to her now. He breathes deeper upon feeling tears threaten, and opens his eyes to gaze at her headstone. "Hi," he tells it. "I brought you something."

Arthur dips his hand into his pocket, withdrawing the tiny lightbulb. "I should have brought a bigger one, but this is all I had left from the nightlights I put in their new rooms. I hope that's okay with you." He cups it in his hands, extending it over the apex of the marble block and summoning his power. The filament inside begins to glow, flickering gently as he blows on it. When Arthur draws his hands back the bulb remains floating above Kimiyo's headstone, still alight. "It's a nice trick, yeah? I practiced for two weeks until I got it right," he confesses. In his mind, it's so easy to see her shaking her head and smiling at him. "I'm sorry I haven't been by that much."

He resettles himself so that he's kneeling in the wet grass. "I'm sorry for a lot of things, Miko. Wherever you are right now, I hope you know that. I never wanted you to get hurt, especially not because of me; remember when you told me that I was worthless and couldn't change the fact that I'd been born to fail at whatever I tried? I know you were just mad at me for standing you up, but… you were right." Arthur looks away, up at the sky. "I should have stayed away from you."

He should have done so many things differently. "Well. Rising Sun didn't want the children, so I have them now. They don't really know _what_ to think. We just moved today – it's a lot quicker if you can teleport all your belongings, you know? Kara is supposed to come by in the morning to take them school shopping, and there's still so much left to buy. Who would have thought that two kids need so much crap? Besides you, obviously. The looting destroyed a lot of what they used to have, but we saved all we could." His eyes start burning again, and Arthur breaks off to swallow against the lump in his throat. "I have no idea what I'm doing, Kim. I'm lost without you. I love you. I miss you." He sniffs and rubs the back of his sleeve over his eyes. "I…I should get back, just in case they wake up."

Teleporting back, he quickly checks their rooms and finds Imako still sleeping but Yasu is sitting on the floor against the wall. The boy looks up at him with a frown. "Where did you go?"

"I had something I needed to do."

"Like what? Robbing that bank we were in earlier?"

Arthur sighs. "No, I thought I'd shake down an old folk's home and set stray cats on fire. Good _night_."

He turns to go, and hears Yasu take a deep breath. "Are…are you going to leave us, too?"

Shocked, Arthur turns back towards the boy huddled against the wall. "Why would I…? No, I'm not leaving you." Yasu pulls the blanket around himself tighter, scooting over pointedly, so he walks over and sits down. "I promised your mother I'd look out for you, and it's a promise I intend to keep."

"Is that where you went?" Yasu whispers. "Did you go see her?"

Arthur leans his head back against the wall, stretching his legs out. "Yes."

"Grandfather said that… he said you… what really happened?" the boy asks, looking up. "Nobody wants to say."

"It's a long story," Arthur says, wondering just where to begin.

Yasu takes this as a refusal. "Everyone says _that_ , too."

He closes his eyes and sighs. "I'll tell you, it's just - let me think a moment, okay?" Yasu nods. Arthur begins by reminding Kimiyo's son of what he'd learned about Darkseid and the Anti-Life Equation when the children were safe aboard the satellite. "Libra began to come to each of us, offering some the chance for revenge – if that didn't work, he resorted to threats. Luthor – you know who he is – persuaded me to join."

"Who did you want to get revenge on?" Yasu asks curiously. "The Titans?"

Arthur's lips curl into a bitter smile. "No… I was offered the chance to regain the influence I'd lost when Zatanna Zatara put that curse on me."

"You mean, the one that made you stupid?"

"I wasn't stupid," Arthur points out. "She just cursed me so that my plans failed more than half the time. It's hard to keep your credibility when your schemes hardly ever work out, and no one took me seriously after a while."

"So you wanted to get your power back."

"Yes. It was only after I agreed that I realized that Libra wasn't what he seemed… I told him I wanted out and he said he would kill you, your sister, and your mother if I left." Arthur rubs at the bridge of his nose. "No matter what you think of me, I only wanted to keep you safe."

Yasu draws in a quick, hurt breath. "So you left? Is that why Mother died?"

"No." Arthur shakes his head, remembering the horror he'd felt when Libra had told him about the explosives planted in his apartment – the place he'd thought Kimiyo would be safe. "No. I stayed, and did what he asked of me."

The boy's voice is thick with tears. "Then _why?_ "

"Libra was… he was still angry that I had wanted to leave so he put a bomb in my apartment, knowing that your mother would be there. I tried to reach her in time but-" Arthur breaks off, covering his eyes with a hand. In his mind, he's back in the apartment as the backdraft shoves him through the window while he frantically reaches out for Kimiyo. He can feel the intense heat turning the building into a furnace. "God, I _tried_." Arthur reaches out to gather the sobbing boy into his arms, and Yasu clings to him as if he's a lifeline. "I'm so sorry," he whispers.

"I miss her so much," Kimiyo's son chokes, burrowing his head into Arthur's chest.

Arthur rests his cheek against the top of Yasu's head. "Me, too."

They stay huddled together for a long time until Yasu's tears turn into semi-embarrassed sniffling, and Arthur turns him loose. He wipes at his own eyes, and the kid looks at him in amazement after blowing his nose. "I didn't know that _you_ …" he trails off and looks down at his socks. "Um."

Arthur smiles. "Yeah, it happens now and then. Usually when I'm cutting onions, being beaten up by Wonder Woman, or watching _Old Yeller_ , mind you."

Yasu smiles back shyly. " _Old Yeller_ makes me sad, too."

"See? We're not so different after all," Arthur points out. "Now, it's past time for you to be asleep – Kara's going to take you shopping and she'll yell at me if you're a complete zombie… unless you want to stay here and help me organize the kitchen."

"No thanks, I'll go with Aunt Kara."

"That's what I thought," Arthur says wryly.

He straightens Yasu's sleeping bag and zips the boy up inside it; he reaches the door when Yasu speaks from behind him. "You really loved my mother, didn't you? Grandfather said that you didn't."

There are plenty of things he could say about Yasu's grandfather, but elects to keep his mouth shut. "Of course I did. I still do. Go to sleep."

Arthur quickly finds that he's unable to follow his own advice, so he stays up and sets the kitchen to rights. Thinking about the conversation he's had with Yasu, the first one that didn't end in sulky dismissal or backtalk. Thinking about Kimiyo, not that she’s ever far from his mind.

The amount of money in his offshore accounts is considerable enough that he doesn’t have to worry about spending whatever they’ll need to furnish the townhouse. He doesn’t want to tap into any of them too deeply, just on the off chance that he’ll need the funds for tech development... or college tuition. He spends a few hours arranging wire transfers, then goes online to browse cell phone plans and furniture websites. It’s almost 7:30 by the time he’s written separate lists for groceries, furniture, and electronic equipment.

Arthur finishes bookmarking the furniture sites he’ll have the children look at later - they’ll get bored after scrolling through the first site but he’s pretty sure they’ll like being asked what they want – and closes the laptop, standing up to stretch and yawn. Since they’re due to wake up at any moment and he’s still conscious, he starts breakfast.

“You haven’t gone to bed yet?” Yasu asks, startling him so that he nearly drops the eggs.

“A little warning, _please_.” Arthur shakes his head and turns back to the stove. “Kara said she’d be here at 8:30, so make sure you’re ready. Yes?”

“Yes,” he’s told dutifully. “Can we have French toast?”

Arthur stifles a yawn. “Yeah, I guess. Get the bread; in the pantry, top right.” He busies himself making breakfast, and has Yasu bring the school supply lists that Blůdhaven Central had mailed them along with the envelope he’d placed on the couch earlier. “If there’s anything you can’t find when you’re out, just mark it and I’ll get it later. There’s a credit card in that envelope, and the house keys – make at least two copies of the keys so both you and your sister can have a set. Do not buy any farm animals or automobiles with the credit card.”

Yasu grins, but he can tell their truce is still a bit fragile. “What’s it for, then?”

He finishes the pile of French toast and dumps the plate on the counter. “Making sure Power Girl doesn’t label me a deadbeat. Use it for everything you buy today; I’m going to bed.” Arthur hears Imako running out of her room just as he goes into his, and the sound of the kids rummaging through the cabinets in search of the paper plates and plastic cutlery. The refrigerator opens and shuts a few times as he stretches out on the carpet, but he’s too tired to go back out there and make sure nobody’s drinking milk straight from the carton.

When he wakes up around noon the kids aren’t back yet so Arthur showers and shaves before throwing on some clothes and teleporting to one of the furniture showrooms he’d looked up earlier. Figuring that he would only upset the employees if he simply ‘ported his chosen bedroom set and bookcases out of there, he just arranges for next-day delivery. When he writes down his name on the sales receipt, he upsets them anyway because they suddenly realize who he is. His amusement is all that gets him through the next few stops – he’s never been much for shopping, though Lenny’s always loved it for some strange reason. With that thought in mind, he decides to give Cold a call.

_ _ _ _ _ 

It turns out to be a lot more enjoyable with good company, and he allows Lenny to steer him through numerous outlet stores. They wind up with everything he needs, teleporting the bulkier items back together, and arrange for the major appliances to be delivered later. "I thought you already had a stove and fridge there," Lenny says curiously as Arthur 'ports them to one of the villain-friendly bars.

He dumps the bag holding the cell phones at his feet and signals for menus. "I do, but with two kids in the house I need something bigger – you wouldn't believe how much they eat. You want what's there, I'll shift it over as soon as the replacements come."

Cold nods. "Yeah, thanks. Anj's been after me to get a new one; seems the grime just won't come off if it's left too long," his friend jokes as they place their orders for food and beer.

"Angie? Isn't she…?"

"Yeah, same one."

"She moved in with you? When?" Arthur's a little troubled that he hasn’t heard about this before, but it's not like he should be surprised. He's been out of it for a while.

"Last month. We talked about it after... after Kim."

"Oh. Well, good for you… and tell Angie that she has my sympathies."

Lenny offers him a rude gesture, laughing. "How's it going with the kids? You gonna retire, be a stay-at-home whatsits?"

"You know what they say about idle hands… not that I can afford to get myself locked up, because I can't. I promised I'd look out for them, you know?" He leans back as their food arrives, and the smell of Lenny's charred burger abruptly reminds him of the Spectre. "Oh, Jesus." He lurches up out of his chair and barely makes it into the bathroom before he vomits.

"I knew you were on some sorta health kick, but this is ridiculous." Lenny's voice makes him look up from where he's rinsing out his mouth. "You okay, man?"

Arthur spits water into the sink, and wipes the dampness from his mouth. "I told you that shopping makes me sick.” 

"Uh huh," Cold says skeptically. "Make sure you don't have anything in the crumb-catcher."

"Very funny." He makes sure to check his goatee anyway.

Lenny wolfs down his burger when they go back out, and Arthur doesn't really feel like eating anything so they call Reverse Flash. He runs in, Arthur's lunch disappears from the table, and Eobard slows down long enough to belch out a thanks before taking off again – closely pursued by a red blur. "Aw, shit. We could've tripped Flash or something," Lenny complains. "He was _right here_ … now, you gonna tell me what's going on, or do I need to drag it out of you?"

"I'll tell you, but I don't think you'll believe me. Hell, _I_ have a hard time believing it really happened," Arthur says, rubbing a hand through his hair. "After Kim… after the bomb went off... the Spectre came for me." He takes a deep breath, and relates everything that had happened on the night J'onn and Kimiyo were murdered. "I had to burn my suit, after. I'll wake up thinking I'm on fire. The smell… "

His friend looks down at the remains of his hamburger, clearly wishing that he hadn't eaten it. "Huh. Another Earth? You know which one?"

"I'm not sure I _want_ to know."

"So Other You was turned into a candle."

"Yeah."

"Man, I can't do candlelight dinners with Angie ever again."

"You don't do it _now_ ," Arthur's obliged to point out, and tries to lighten the mood. "Just think; whenever she wants to light some candles before sex, you'll involuntarily think of me. It's like the ultimate cockblock, and I won't even have to be there."

"Well, fuck," Lenny grouses.

“You’re welcome.”

Arthur 'ports home to start sorting through all the crap he's had to buy, momentarily lamenting the fact that with the money he's spent in the last week he could have financed the construction of at least three of his side projects. The kids aren't back yet, so he unpacks the smaller appliances and slides the accompanying instruction manuals into a cabinet drawer before flipping through the booklet regarding the new cell phone plan. After a few minutes he tosses it into the drawer and starts gathering up the empty packing cartons into a pile; he'll have to actually walk to the dumpsters before he knows the area well enough to simply teleport the garbage.

He's finished moving the mattresses into the kids' rooms, hanging the new TV on the wall, and is putting together one of the bookcases when someone knocks on the door. Arthur opens it to find a nervous-looking man waiting on the doorstep, shifting from foot to foot. The man shoves his hand out automatically, then withdraws it just as quickly when Arthur makes no move to take it. "Uh. Howdy, neighbor."

"What?" He demands. 

"I'm… my name is Steven," the man tries again. "What's yours?"

Arthur watches the beads of sweat form on the tip of Steven's nose. "Doctor Light."

Steven's eyes widen slightly. "So it's true, then, that you're…"

"A supervillain? Yes." Arthur steps back, waving the other man inside and enjoying his discomfort. "Come on in, Steve."

"Oh, I should get going-"

Arthur drags him in. "Don't be shy; want some coffee?"

"Well, I _really_ -"

"Great – you can make _me_ some, too." He gives Steven a push in the general direction of the coffee maker and goes right back to building the bookcase. His unexpected guest stammers out something about the Homeowner's Association and Community Watch, but Arthur declines to comment on this until he's secured the last bolt. "I don't give three-sixteenths of a good God _damn_ about the Homeowner's Association."

Steven coughs. "It's… kind of mandatory," he says in almost perfect mimicry of Calculator's second cousin.

"Not for me, it isn't. Get over here and help me move this."

He bullies the other man for a few more minutes, then his fun is cut short by Power Girl's arrival with the children. "We're back, you sleazebag," Kara announces, sailing in and shoving an armload of shopping bags at him. "Both kids picked out computers that you paid for, and if you even _think_ about trying to return them I'll wrap your ankles around your ears and glue that dumbass beard of yours to the cement outside."

"Do you mind, Karen? I'm trying to terrify one of the neighbors," Arthur complains, dumping the bags on the table. Imako comes in to wrap her arms around his leg.

Steve is unsuccessfully trying to avoid looking at Kara's chest. "I really should be going." He digs a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and hands it to her. "Here's the details of the H.A. meeting, Mrs. Light-"

" _Excuse_ me? No. No no _no_. Nononononoooooo," Kara says quickly. " _Nooooo_. We're not married. No no no. I wouldn't let this jerk touch me with a ten foot pole."

"It's not _that_ long," Arthur interjects mildly.

"Ugh."

Steve sidles towards the door. "Have a nice night. Bye now."

"You forgot your coffee," Arthur bellows after him. "Kara, they do not _need_ computers. You maybe want to tell me what else you steered them towards? A new car, or maybe a private jet?”

Power Girl snorts and flings herself down on the couch uninvited. "You asked me to take them school shopping, and that's precisely what I did. Don’t cry to me about not having enough money to finance some stupid telescope that shoots death rays at the Watchtower. Besides, let’s just take a minute to think of where your money comes from."

"I didn't mean for you to actually buy an entire _school_ , and it looks like that's exactly what you did," Arthur says, looking inside the bags. "Don't mess with the television."

All he gets is another snort as she reaches for the remote control. "Bite me."

"Oh wow, a new TV! Cool," Yasu says when he thinks the hostility has died down enough. "Did you get beds?"

Arthur shakes his head no. "Mattresses only. We'll get the frames later; did you eat yet?"

Imako nods, pawing through the bags. "Onii-sama, look what I got!" She pulls out the frilliest dress he's ever seen in his life, and shoves it in his face after clambering up onto one of the chairs.

"That's very… pink," Arthur says lamely.

"I have one in yellow, too!"

"Fantastic." He digs through the bags, separating them and dutifully admiring each of the little girl's outfits. "We'll put there over here and was them in the morning, okay?"

"Okay," Imako says happily. "Today was _fun_ , Onii-sama. Just like when Mama took me."

He forces a smile. "I'm glad. Did you say thank you to Aunt Kara for taking you?" She nods and he reminds her that it's bathtime, so she runs over to give Power Girl a hug before zooming up the stairs. 

Within seconds, she’s back out and riffling through a bag. “Oh, we got you something!” Imako yanks out two t-shirts and presents them to him solemnly. One of them is emblazoned with the words ‘I’m with stupid’ with an arrow pointing straight down, and the other has a picture of a lightbulb wearing devil horns that says ‘I’m a bad idea.’ Over on the couch, Kara start smirking.

“Did she help you pick these?” Arthur asks.

Imako nods vigorously. “I picked the lightbulb one though, all by myself. I dunno why she thought you needed the one with that arrow.”

“That makes two of us,” he says, glaring over at Power Girl who’s laughing at the National Geographic channel. “Thank you.” She seizes his legs in a hug, then races back upstairs to the bathroom.

Kara finally leaves and Arthur digs through the fridge wearily, trying to figure out what he's going to make for dinner. "We already ate," Yasu volunteers, pulling up a chair and slapping one of his new notebooks down on the kitchen counter. "Are you really going to make us take back the computers?"

"Yes," Arthur says, pulling the carton of milk out and nudging the fridge door closed with his foot. "You don't need it, and neither does your sister." 

He braces himself for a fiery burst of preteen melodrama, but all Yasu does is look mildly…   
_pleased_. As if Arthur's just passed some test he wasn't aware he was taking. "Okay." The boy scribbles some kanji in the notebook, then looks up at him again. "Um, Arthur? Remember that time Mom told you to, you know, _talk_ to me?"

Uh-oh. "Yeah?" 

"And, uh, remember how you… when we went into that place with the movies…?"

Yasu trails off, and the nightmarish visions of him announcing that he's impregnated someone at the mall vanish as Arthur realizes what he's trying to say. "They were either lost, destroyed, or stolen and you'd like some more." Yasu wilts in relief at not having to actually say the words. "Sure, I'll pick up a couple for you. What made y- _oh_. Well, I think we've all been there," Arthur says, thinking of the first few times he'd ever seen Kara. "It'll wear off once you truly realize how irritating she is."

He turns around to put the milk back, forgetting that he's not actually put any into a glass, and when he turns back Yasu is still bright red. "I got this for the physics stuff you were teaching me," the kid mumbles. "Are you still going to?"

Someone's actually willing to learn something from him without having been dragged into it kicking and screaming? He’d better strike while the iron’s hot. "Absolutely. Get a pencil, and let's go."

"What, now?"

"Neither of us has any porn to watch, so we might as well." Arthur begins sketching in the air with his finger and an equation measuring angular motion appears, written in light. "Let's start with this one…"

As the days pass, their new home becomes fully furnished but no less dysfunctional – Arthur has to deal with sibling rivalry and squabbles that make him long for the block of solitary confinement cells at Stryker’s Island. Since he can’t accept many of the jobs Calculator offers and the monthly bills seem to keep coming, Arthur resigns himself to work that doesn’t quite mesh with villainy. In the evenings while the children are either working on the homework he’s assigned them or watching a movie, he dusts off his drafting skills and goes to work on plans for one of the hundreds of inventions he’s thought up over the years but has never fully developed. Yasu takes an immediate interest in this, and begins thinking up inventions of his own – Arthur doubts the homework eating robot will ever be a rousing success, but he decides not to say anything against it.

The night of the Homeowner’s Association meeting, he dresses for the first time in his new suit and decides to teleport directly into the clubhouse. Two people scream upon his sudden appearance, and at least ten more melodramatically clasp their hands to their hearts. His gaze sweeps across the chairs arranged in a circle, to the refreshment table with the requisite punch bowl and cookie platter, and back to the people staring at him. 

Ridiculous.

An elaborately coiffed woman sidles up to him nervously, holding out a stick-on name badge and a pen. Her own nametag announces that her name is Tammy. “Hi there. Welcome. Won’t you take this so everyone kno-”

Tammy breaks off as he turns towards her abruptly, giving her a look that had caused a few people to wet themselves once upon a time. Arthur gazes at her long enough for her to start to sweat, then takes the name badge silently. He uncaps the pen, writes on the sticker, and affixes it to his chest so that anyone who looks at him will read ‘HI – MY NAME IS Satan.’ She's still staring at him, and he sighs inwardly. "Nice hair."

"Oh, do you think so?" she asks, patting at her head nervously.

"No, I was just trying to make conversation."

Tammy prisses up her lips and leaves.

He briefly considers going to hover over the punch bowl just so everyone else will either avoid it or think he spiked it, but decides to sit down on the centermost chair and see who has the guts to sit anywhere near him. Kimiyo would probably slap him into next week for the way he's acting, and the thought makes him smile. Unfortunately, the fact that he's actually capable of good humor is what makes another woman head straight for him after loudly whispering to her friends. They lean their heads together and watch her sashay over to him, and though Arthur wipes the smile off his face immediately, the damage has been done. "Well, hello there."

“I’m not interested in you,” he says, trying to head her off at the pass. Her nametag, prominently displayed on her ample cleavage, boasts the name ‘Hannah.’

“You’re certainly a straight shooter,” she giggles at him, somehow managing to contort her body so that her breasts brush his shoulder while the rest of her is still standing half a foot away. “You’re just not interested _yet_.”

Arthur opens his mouth to tell her what he’s _really_ interested in doing to her, which is absolutely nothing at all, but the meeting gets underway and he’s asked if he’d like to introduce himself. “No,” he says pleasantly.

“Uh, okay. Everyone, this is – ah, Doctor Arthur Light. _The_ Doctor Light,” Steve volunteers.

“I thought there was a woman Doctor Light,” Arthur’s would-be seductress says, turning to him and eyeballing the crotch of his closefitting uniform. “Do you know her?”

He’s strongly tempted to claim Kimiyo as his wife, but settles upon giving her a flat, unfriendly stare and Hannah finally gets the message to shut her mouth. Arthur sits through an hour of complaints about flowerbeds and dented garbage cans before he’s called upon yet again concerning Community Watch. Tammy, who is apparently Steven’s wife, is rearranging the ‘Community Calendar’ and stammers a bit as she asks him which weeknights he’d like to take.

Arthur gets to his feet, twitching his cape over his shoulders and turning to fix everyone in the room with a look that does little to disguise his irritation. “I have been sitting here listening to the most ridiculous, banal complaints I’ve ever had the misfortune to overhear. Each of us here tonight has been forced to pay a monthly fee so that we can sit here and argue over which person should be penalized for not maintaining their yard to some asinine standard that could only have been thought up by a drunken chimpanzee. 

I have better things to do than to sit here and allow my I.Q. be lowered by such…conversation. As you all know, I am a convicted felon who likes to take things that don't belong to me and pick fights with grown men who wear their underwear on the outside. I will not allow anyone to censure me if I choose to plant wildflowers instead of tulips outside of the home I purchased, because the fact of the matter is that _I_ am the owner – not you, unless of course you've somehow managed to buy out my mortgage when I wasn't paying attention. No? I didn't think so." He powers up slightly, just enough for them to wonder if his eyes are really glowing or if they're simply going mad. "I will waste no more of my time nor money on this farce; if you have a problem with that, I encourage you to do something about it. Leave me alone, and I will leave _you_ alone. However, in the interests of cooperation, I will render your Community Watch program obsolete within two months. Any questions?"

Hanna wriggles her fingers at him. "No, I will not have sex with you. Anyone _else?_ "

"Who do you think you are? You can't just walk in here and dictate terms to us," one of the other men says, rising to his feet.

Arthur folds his arms across his chest. "I believe I just _did_."

"But-"

"Do you mean to tell me that you have no better use for your time than sitting in a therapy circle and gossiping over who just put a satellite dish in the 'no zone?'" Arthur asks, incredulous.

The man looks embarrassed as he glances around self-consciously. "Okay then, what you said about Community Watch. How are you gonna do _that?_ "

"By having you along for the ride. Thank you for volunteering, and have a wonderful night." With this, he teleports back in the house and kicks the trashcan across the room.

Yasu looks up from his graph paper. “Had a good time, huh?”

“Oh, shut up.”

In the morning, he goes out for his customary run with a bag of small metal signs tucked in the front pocket of his hooded sweatshirt. Stopping at every other light pole, he holds the signs – which are black with a white starburst – at eye level and uses a concentrated burst of light to weld them onto the metal. Any professional criminals will recognize his insignia, and any other punks will be taught to do the same. Arthur ‘hangs’ them within a four-block radius of his subdivision and jogs back, sighing as a whirlwind of yellow causes his hood to be shoved down over his face. “Go away, Eobard.”

Reverse Flash slows down enough to fall in step with him, tugging the cowl back. “Wwwwwwwhhhyyyy areyouhanging up flyers; did youloseyourcaaaaat?”

“You know why I’m putting those up,” he replies, unperturbed at his friend’s odd manner of speaking. “Did you need something?”

Thawne claps a hand to his chest and pulls his cowl back up as they see a car turning onto the street. “Aaarrthurr. Perhaps I was justintheneighborhood annnddd wwwwantedtoseehow you were doiiiinnnnng.” He looks annoyed at having to run so slowly, and Arthur taps into his power to speed up. 

“We both know that’s not true,” Arthur laughs, hoping that he won’t burn the soles off his shoes before he gets back. “Though you know you’re welcome any time. What’s up?”

Eobard gives him a sidelong glance. “You needto come baaack,” he says bluntly, his words more evenly spaced now that he’s speeding back up. “You are one of uss, Arrthurrr.”

“I’m fine where I am.”

“Dddooo not lietome when I know yyyouu are not happy.”

“I made a _promise_.”

“You’ve mmmade many, and broken halfof themm.” Thawne spins his altered Speed Force around Arthur, carrying him along before he can protest. “I’m sorrier than you know, that Kimiyo died. She was a good woman – a saint, to put up with _you_ – but you have to move on, Arthur. You can’t stay in a cage that your promises built.”

Arthur grits his teeth against the growing discomfort. “I’m all they have. I can’t go to jail.”

“You got their mother killed.”

Anger makes him lash out with his power, making Thawne stumble. “Shut your fucking mouth.”

“The truth hurts, doesn’t it? If you had told her, she might still be alive today – and she’d tell you the same thing I’m telling you now. Quit licking your wounds, and get back in the game before it moves on without you.”

“I can’t go to jail,” Arthur repeats.

“Then _don’t get caught_. Jesus, Artie! You’re not made for sitting inside and playing house – what happened to Kim, tragic as it was, gave you exactly what you wanted: respect. They’ll listen to you, but you have to seize the opportunity.” Reverse Flash downshifts without warning, and Arthur is hurled against a set of dumpsters because he’s unable to catch himself in time. "Yyyyyyou stillpay Noah," the other man reminds him, slipping his cowl back again and running a hand through his sandy hair. "Sstoplyingto yourrrrselllllfff."

Arthur picks himself up off the ground, rubbing at his elbow. "I'll think about it." 

Eobard draws his suit back into his ring and falls into step with him once more. "Gggoooood. Yyyou have anyhotsinglewomennn hhherrre?" he asks eagerly, making Arthur laugh.

"I'm sure there are a few hanging around… but I know someone you might like," he mentions with a sly sideways glance. This could be the perfect opportunity to get that woman, Hannah, off his back. "She has a supervillain fetish."

"Rrrrreallllyyyyy?"

"Oh, yeah. Trust me on this one… hey, speak of the devil." Arthur swears silently upon seeing the woman in question talking to his kids. Imako and Yasu are out in front watering the plants they'd picked out last week, and Arthur can only hope she hasn't gotten too much personal information from them. Hannah straightens up upon seeing him approach, and Eobard hums appreciatively at the cleavage on display. "We were just talking about you," he announces, not missing the look of relief on Yasu's face.

Hanna inhales deeply, and Eobard's eyes become glued to her Extra Extra Small tanktop. This doesn't escape her notice, and she angles towards Thawne. "Were you, now. Aren't you gonna introduce me to your friend?"

_With pleasure and good riddance_ , Arthur thinks. "Hanna, this is Eobard. Eobard, Hanna."

"That's a different sort of name," she says, inhaling again. "Familiar though. Where have I heard it before?"

Eobard blurs out to change back into his costume and Arthur rolls his eyes as his friend preens for his audience. "Ccccaaaare togoforsome coffee? I knowthis great place in Itaaaalllyyyy – theymakethebestespressoyou'llevertaste." She agrees immediately despite the fact that she’s only caught the word ‘coffee’, and he swoops her up and takes off. He'll probably run around the world a few times just so he can use the Negative Speed Force to flirt without the speech impediment.

"Does that mean she won't come back?" Yasu asks. Imako looks up expectantly.

"We can only hope," Arthur replies. "The plants look nice."

"She was askin' about Mommy," Imako says, wrinkling her nose. "I don't think she likes kids a whole lot."

Yasu laughs suddenly. "It's true about what you said in the meeting, huh?"

"That depends on what you've heard, but it _is_ probably true," Arthur admits. "It was a total waste of my time, and the food looked terrible."

Community Watch, later that evening, is relatively uneventful. His unwilling partner is nowhere to be found so he goes to Steven and Tammy's house to find out where the man lives. Tammy doesn't look pleased to see him, so he apologizes for the crack about her hair and assures her that it really _had_ looked nice. She invites him in and there's an awkward moment when her husband has to go to another room to look up the address, but it passes after he takes off his helmet in order to look a little less threatening. Since she seems to be the head of the Landscape Legionnaires, it can't hurt to be nice for five minutes. 

"Would you like some cider? I'm making some in the slow cooker," Tammy offers nervously.

He shakes his head as Steven comes back in the room holding a sheet of paper. "No, thank you. If you have any oranges, you should try slicing them up and adding them in," Arthur advises. "It makes the entire place smell nice, and it's really quite good."

"Oh, you cook?"

"I used to be a chef years before I finally realized I'd make more money robbing banks… well, that and I accidentally set the entire restaurant on fire."

Tammy tries not to smile. "Oh, dear. Steve, have you called Hal and told him to meet… ah, Doctor Light?"

"Hal? His name is _Hal?_ " It figures.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Steve asks, genuinely puzzled.

"No, I just… never mind." He's to meet 'Hal' at the stop sign by that ridiculous clubhouse, and decides to fly over instead of walking or teleporting. It unsettles the other man when he touches down right behind him, and he flicks his cape back out of the way. "Nice night, isn't it?"

Hal sets his jaw obstinately. "You didn't say you wanted to get started this soon-"

"Unlike _some_ people, I like to get things over with as soon as possible." Arthur thinks about this for a second. "Well, certain things. Being talked to death is the worst way to go, wouldn't you agree?"

He sets off, and Hal trails after him. "I thought you were supposed to explain how you're gonna make sure no crime happens here." Arthur pauses by an electrical pole and reaches up to tap a finger against the signs he'd posted earlier in the day. "You hung up _signs?_ "

"Dogs urinate on fire hydrants to mark their territory. I haven't had much liquid today so yes, I hung signs."

"And that works."

"Yes." Arthur gives him a look. "Tell me, Harold, are you afraid of heights?"

"What does that have to – _whoa!_ " he clutches at Arthur's cape frantically as he's hoisted up in the air, and lets out a few screeches before Arthur deposits him atop a light pole. "Put me _down_ , are you _crazy?_ Jesus! What are you _doing?_ Shit. Shit. Oh, shit. I'm gonna die!"

Arthur rolls his eyes and plugs the word vomit with a hard light gag. "You're not dying, so settle down. Look around you – what do you see?" His reluctant compatriot has his eyes squeezed shut, so Arthur does the describing for him. "From here, if you'd bother opening your eyes, you would see that we have the perfect vantage point for spotting anyone who might be feeling the urge to flout my authority."

"You couldn't have _warned_ me before we left the ground?!?!?!?"

"Of course I could have, but I never to miss an opportunity to humiliate someone I hardly know." Arthur settles himself on the upper curve of the pole, spreading his knees to help distribute his weight and keep his balance. "The metal's thicker over there, if you want to scoot to your left."

Hal's finally stopped hyperventilating, and he cautiously wiggles in the indicated direction. "You'll catch me if I fall, right?"

"We'll see," Arthur says cryptically. "Keep your voice down." They sit there until his ass starts to fall asleep, and he's shifting irritably when they see some dumb punk in a hoodie sneaking across the street two blocks up. "Oh, here we go." Hal straightens attentively, and the night's quiet enough for them to hear the distinctive sound of a can of spray paint being shaken up.

He reaches out to grasp Hal's shirt, and teleports right behind the kid just as he's laying the stencil on the side of a house. Arthur powers up fully, and their unsuspecting prey lets loose a bloodcurdling shriek as Hal yells, " _Hey!_ " at him.

"'Hey?'" Seriously?

"That's the best I could do on such short notice," Hal says defensively.

"Well, you'll need to work on it for next time." Arthur nudges the paint can with the toe of his boot, regarding the cowering young man thoughtfully. "Now, what should I do with you?"

"Let me go?"

"Nice try." Arthur leans down to grab him, then teleports them both high up in the air. Getting a fistful of the idiot's sweatshirt, he shakes him. "You look like the kind of moron who has friends who are just as stupid. I want you to tell them to stay away from here."

The kid starts to get mad and swears at him, so Arthur gets to do exactly what he'd planned on. Teleporting higher up, above the clouds, he releases his grip on the punk's sweater and lets him fall. The terror-stricken wail makes him laugh as he waits for the kid to fall just a little bit farther… then he teleports down to catch him. "Let's go over this again," he says calmly. "You will tell your friends – and anyone else you might come across – to stay away, because this is my territory. Yes?"

"Y-y-yuh-yuh-"

Arthur cuts him off. "Good," he says, and lets him drop again.

" _AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH…..!!!!!!!!!!_ "

He catches the delinquent right before he hits the pavement, and then sets him down gently for the benefit of a wide-eyed Hal. "Don't forget, okay? I know how to find you," Arthur says, clapping the kid on the back. "Now, run along. Stay in school, or something."

"… _That's_ your plan to make Community Watch obsolete?" Hal asks incredulously as they both watch the kid stagger away.

"It works, wouldn't you say?"

"Well, _yeah_ … but-" Hal breaks off with a sigh. "Know what? Fuck it. Let's go get some beer and a pizza."

 

_ _ _ _ _

 

Calculator is pleased to hear from him again, enough so that Arthur feels guilty about not contacting his friend earlier. He casually works in a query about the next Society meeting, and promptly gets an earful about how Noah feels ignored except for when someone needs something from him. He continues in this vein for several minutes and Arthur holds his phone away from his ear until it's safe to participate in the conversation again. The call-waiting beeps at him and he ignores it because he's pushed Calculator a little too far already, and it's not a good idea to piss off his job broker any further.

Arthur finally resorts to bribery to get Noah off the phone, and writes himself a note so he remembers to bake something and 'port it over later. His cell vibrates on the counter, and he puts the voicemail message on speaker while he shines his helmet. _"Mister….Doctor…Light, I'm calling from Blůdhaven Central about Yasu Yasunari. Records indicate that you are his guardian. If you could please return my call-_ "

What _now?_ He deletes the message and grabs his jacket from the back of the couch before teleporting downtown within a block of the middle school. Some of the classes are having an early lunch break, and he catches a rogue basketball to toss it back after it sails over the fence. "Thanks, mister!" one of the kids yell at him. He lifts a hand in acknowledgement and goes inside to the office, where the receptionist nearly swallows her gum at the sight of him.

"I'm here about Yasu."

"Oh. Uh. Wait just a… wait just a moment?" She scoots off, still looking alarmed for some reason - he's still not used to inspiring terror this early in the day. The receptionist comes back as he's out in the hallway looking at the trophy case, and leads him to the principal's office where Yasu is waiting in a chair outside. The boy has a black eye and several scrapes on his face and arms, and Arthur sighs inwardly at the scowl on Yasu's face.

The principal greets him with a firm handshake and waves him towards one of the two chairs in front of his desk. Yasu sinks into the other one. "What's going on? Were you in a fight?"

"Thank you for coming, Doctor," the principal cuts in smoothly. "There was a bit of a scuffle involving your … charge…in the halls earlier today."

Arthur looks over at Yasu. "Who won?"

"Really, now-"

"I did," Yasu says, lifting his chin.

"The 'winner' of a fight is not important," the other man says sternly.

Arthur gives him a look. "To him, it is. What exactly happened?"

Yasu clamps his mouth shut and shakes his head, staring down at his shoes. The principal clears his throat, still looking annoyed. "He refuses to say what the fight was about. Here at Blůdhaven Central we have a zero tolerance policy for fights of any kind and I have no choice but to suspend him for-"

"Suspension?" Arthur asks incredulously. "Yasu, did you start that fight?" The boy shakes his head, 'no' and he turns back to the man behind the desk. "You're going to suspend him because he defended himself? Is _that_ what you're telling me?"

"My hands are tied in this matter, Doctor Light. Yasu refuses to discuss what happened, and none of the other boys are willing to talk."

Arthur pinches the bridge of his nose. "Other boys. Other. Boys. You didn't say _neither_ , so that means there were more than two attacking my son. And instead of offering him protection, you are simply punishing him as if he did something wrong in fighting back instead of letting himself be bullied and beaten in the halls of a school where he should be kept safe." The principal clears his throat again, but he's in no mood to hear platitudes and bullshit. Standing up, Arthur motions to Yasu. "Go get your things - we're leaving." 

Yasu scrambles out of his seat and shoots through the door, and Arthur turns to deliver a carefully worded threat to the principal before leaving the office to look at the plaques on the wall outside. The sound of running footsteps makes him turn to see Yasu headed towards him at full gallop, looking excited at being able to leave school so early. "Can we go eat somewhere?"

"You going to tell me what happened if we do?"

The smile slides off the young boy's face and he shakes his head again. "Nuh-uh."

They teleport across town to a diner he's been to a few times, and Yasu scrambles into a booth as Arthur hangs up their coats. Sliding into the booth opposite, Arthur tosses a menu at the kid and sighs. "You shouldn't fight about me."

Yasu's head jerks up, and his eyes are rounded in surprise. "How'd you…?"

"It seemed likely. They can't say anything that you haven’t already thought of," Arthur says, scanning the extra menu for the lunch specials. "I consider myself something of an expert at avoiding hand to hand combat at all costs – 'combat avoidance' sounds much better than 'running away,' don't you think? I'll teach you some tricks. The pot pie isn't bad, but this early in the day means it's probably from last night."

He lowers the menu to find the boy staring. "You said I was your son."

"Did I?" Arthur frowns, trying to think back to what had happened at the school.

"When you were talking to the principal. You said 'that means there was more than one attacking my son.'"

This has the potential to become something extremely awkward. "So I did," he says, going back to looking at the menu. "If that bothers you, I apologize – oh, look. They have fish tacos."

Yasu kicks him under the table. "Did you mean it, though?"

"Absolutely. Just look at the last page, and you'll see that fish tacos are-"

"Arthur!"

Arthur heaves another sigh, and drops the menu. "Fine. Yes, I meant it."

"You think of me as your son?"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"I guess not." Yasu buries his nose in the menu, giggling when Arthur reaches over to rap his knuckles on the plastic. They order – Yasu gets the fish tacos – and talk about the fight. "I just got really mad, is all."

Arthur turns sideways in his seat, reaching for his water glass. "No one in that school is supposed to know that you two live with me, except for the teachers. Did one of them say anything?"

"I don't think so," Yasu says with a shrug. "Maybe. Parents like to gossip, and the other kids sure like to spread it."

"That makes sense," he agrees, "but if you show them that it bothers you, it'll just get worse."

Yasu eyeballs the dessert menu hopefully. "Do you think that maybe-"

"You haven't even gotten your tacos yet," Arthur reminds him. "I thought you said you liked _my_ cooking."

"I never said that."

"So you don't like it."

"I didn't say _that_ , either."

"Uh huh."

The boy wriggles in his seat as the food arrives, looking as if he's about to dive headfirst onto the plate, and has inhaled half of a taco by the time the server turns to leave. "Whf ooh pfshd ng?" Yasu asks through a mouthful of lunch.

Arthur frowns, trying to decipher… oh. "Was I picked on?" Yasu nods his head in confirmation. "Yes, I was."

"Why?" his charge sucks at his straw and goes back to demolishing his order.

He takes his time answering, twining his pasta around his fork. "Well, it was a few things. My family wasn't the richest in town, so that meant we couldn't afford many of the things that my classmates had. That, and when you're in school with people who aren't as smart as you are… they don't like what they see as an overachiever."

"What'd you do about it?" Yasu asks curiously.

"I'd wait to cry until I got home."

"That's it?"

"Well, once I got home and stopped crying… I got even." Yasu's crafty expression make him add, "But I'm not about to tell you how _that_ happened, so don't even ask."

"Aw! That's so unfair."

"Life's unfair. Get used to it now." The boy's gaze returns to the dessert menu, and Arthur stifles yet another sigh upon noticing that Yasu's cleaned his plate and has probably licked it a few times. "Go on."

Yasu grins and bounds over to the main counter, returning with a whole pie. "It's strawberry rhubarb!"

"There's no possible way you can eat all that yourself," Arthur protests, but is soon proven wrong as Yasu picks up a fork and starts to dig in. He watches, bemused, as his 'son' steadily devours an entire 10" pie. "I thought we might wait to visit your mother today after Imako gets out of school, but maybe we should go a little earlier."

The boy looks up from licking his fork and nods. Arthur lifts his water glass in a silent request for a refill, and their server comes over – he pays the bill and gives the empty pie dish yet another look of disbelief. After taking Yasu's bookbag into the men's room and teleporting to the house to drop it off, he returns to the diner and they walk out the door. "Why'd you have to go in the bathroom instead of 'porting from the booth?"

"I don't have a secret identity to protect, but sometimes it's wise to have a little discretion," Arthur explains as they head down the street in the cemetery's general direction. "Suppose someone was getting a refill of hot coffee, and the waitress was startled by my sudden disappearance."

"Oh," Yasu says. "I guess I never thought about it like that." He's quiet for two more blocks, but Arthur can see the laughter starting to bubble up inside him before it finally spills out. "So when you do that in the _bathroom_ …?"

"Yes."

"Like, on the floor and stuff?"

"One time, the bathroom turned out to be pretty crowded because there was a game. I think five guys had to go home to change their clothes," Arthur says, and Yasu nearly loses the ability to walk because he's laughing so hard. "They were looking in the mirror, and when they saw me teleport behind them they just turned to look and didn’t stop-" the memory of it, coupled with his foster son's hilarity, makes him start to laugh too.

When they finally stop laughing, Yasu reminds him of a promise he'd made concerning their 'inventions'. "Did you apply for those patents you were talking about?"

Arthur glances down at him. "You mean, for the homework eating robot? Yes."

"Do you think I'll get accepted?"

"I don't know," Arthur says honestly. "I've applied for quite a few patents over the years, and gotten approved for less than half of them. You just have to keep trying."

When they reach the cemetery, he stays behind as Yasu walks ahead to sit by his mother's grave. Leaning against one of the old oak trees, Arthur watches the boy rest against the headstone and reach out to touch the light bulb that still hovers in midair. The silk cherry blossoms that he'd brought her last week are looking frayed, and Arthur makes a mental note to bring more. He's been visiting her grave twice a week, when the children are sleeping – daily visits hurt too much, and once per week feels like abandonment.

_Even if you might not approve of his fights – I have no doubt that there will be more, after today – you would be proud of the way he refused to back down despite being outnumbered. Surely, he gets that from you_. He 'talks' to Kimiyo until Yasu comes over to him, red-eyed and quiet. "Can we go home now?" he whispers. Arthur nods and teleports them both back to the house, not saying a word as Yasu takes off to his room. 

When it's time to collect Imako from the elementary school, he leaves a note for her brother and 'ports away. He takes her to Kimiyo's grave as well, sitting on the grass and watching as the little girl carefully places a craft project next to the headstone. "I made this for you," she says. "I hope you think it's nice because I worked on it hard and I hope you like it a lot." When her face crumples and she starts to cry, Arthur moves beside her. Imako flings herself into his arms and he strokes her hair, staring over her head at the light bulb and wishing things could have been different. "It's not fair," Imako sobs. "I want her to _be_ here."

"I know you do."

They sit there until she's cried herself out and Arthur lifts her up when she, just like her brother, asks if they can leave. She lays her head on his shoulder tiredly as he carries her out of the cemetery, wondering if he's done the right thing by bringing them to Kimiyo's grave.

More stress awaits them as he teleports back to find a man waiting in the living room. "Who are you?" Arthur demands, glancing over at Yasu who's huddled over his sketchpad and staring down at the blank paper. "How did you get in here?" He readies himself for a fight by shifting his weight and calling his power so that it settles just beneath his skin.

"Yasu was kind enough to let me in," the man says, and Arthur's hand closes over Imako's shoulder protectively as she shifts behind him. "I'm from Child Protective Services."


	2. Part Two

He proffers a laminated ID card bearing his picture and the name _Jeremy Penworth_ , and Arthur scans it quickly. "Do you usually leave them by themselves, Doctor?"

"What? No," Arthur says defensively, his stomach beginning to knot as Penworth opens a file folder and lays it on the coffee table. "What are you doing here?"

"Just responding to a complaint," the man says smoothly, uncapping a pen and preparing to take notes as he sits on the couch. He looks over at Imako. "It looks as if she's been crying – what happened?"

"I told you, we went to see our mother," Yasu blurts out angrily.

Penworth scribbles something down. "He seems to be very insubordinate, but I've heard that's a fairly _recent_ development… now, how long has it been since you've checked in with your probation officer?"

Arthur blinks. "Excuse me?"

"Probation, Doctor. Your most recent stint in prison ended six months ago, but I see no record of-"

"Members of Task Force X do not serve traditional probation," Arthur says, trying to keep calm. Kara. Kara had to have called them – when he got his hands on her…

The other man writes something else down. "I see. Your sentence was for armed robbery and aggravated assault, is that correct? Well." He caps his pen and reaches for the folder, spreading out the papers and moving a few pictures (Arthur's last three mugshots) out separately. "The two times before that… felony theft and yet another assault charge. I must admit, Doctor, that I'm unsure as to how someone with a criminal record such as yours can come to serve as a guardian of two minors – especially since their mother was found dead in your own apartment. You were even convicted of involuntary manslaughter ten years ago." He pauses. “Yasu has a fairly large black eye… how did he get it?”

Arthur clenches his jaw, desperately willing himself not to react. "Who called you?"

"That's not important right now, Doctor Light. Now, I'd like to interview both children separately; if you could please leave the room…?"

Imako latches onto his leg, starting to cry again. "Onii-sama, I don't like him. Don't _go!_ "

"It's okay," Arthur soothes, extricating himself from her grip. "Your brother is going to be right here with you." He moves outside, where he can still see them through the heavy glass door that leads into the backyard, and calls Power Girl. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he demands.

" _What's got your thong in a twist **now** , Light?_"

"Don't try to pretend that you don't know. If you had a problem with me taking the kids, you should have just taken them to live with you months ago instead of pulling this shit now."

" _Again, I ask: what the hell is your problem? What's going on with the kids?_ "

"You expect me to believe you didn't call CPS? You've had it out for me since day _one_ so don't -"

The line goes dead an instant before a _whoooooosh!_ of air sends leaves flying against the fence. "CPS? Child Protective Services is here? I didn't call them," Kara says, brushing her hair out of her face. "Are you sure he's a real caseworker?" She looks into the house, narrowing her eyes as she scans Penworth's ID badge. "Looks genuine."

"Yes, that's a relief," Arthur says sarcastically, folding his arms across his chest. "So if _you_ didn't call them…and I'm still not sure you're telling the truth about that…"

Power Girl readjusts the cord attached to her cape. "I didn't call them, but I'll find out who did – stay here."

He frowns, watching as she goes inside and sits down, Imako climbing up onto her lap. The caseworker, unbelievably, doesn't stare at her breasts. They talk for several minutes before Yasu comes out looking angry. "Why's he even _here?_ "

"You let him in," Arthur says before he can censor himself.

Yasu drops his head, scuffing his shoes on the grass. "He made it seem like I _had_ to, even though I said you were picking her up from school. You mad at me?"

"No," Arthur sighs. "Not at you. Look, what did he want to know?"

"He asked a lot of questions about Mom, and if you let us talk to our father. Do you think _he's_ the one who called? But I asked him if we could live with him and he said no."

"Kara's going to try to find out."

"Do you… do you think we'll get taken away?" Yasu asks. "Imako's really scared."

Arthur rubs his hands over his face and drops into one of the plastic chairs they have stacked up beside the door. "I don't know. I've never had to deal with these people before," he says irritably, half convinced that Penworth's just going to take the kids. A small voice in the back of his head points out that he was never really good with children, and here's proof. Where did he get off thinking that he could take care of them? Supervillains don't have families for a very good reason. _I promised Miko I'd look after them, but what am I supposed to do if they're taken away? Everything was starting to settle down, and we actually get along with each other – am I that bad as a parent? What am I supposed to do now?_ He sighs wearily and smoothes his hair back, glancing up as the sliding door opens again and out comes Imako to tug at his hand.

She's smiling now, but Arthur can't tell whether or not that's a good sign because she's usually disgustingly cheerful. "Onii-sama! Aunt Kara says you should come in and say goodbye to that man," Imako says. "Then we can have ice cream!"

"Ice cream, huh?" Imako nods at him vigorously as he stands up, and Yasu trails after them uncertainly when they go back inside. 

Penworth actually smiles at him and reaches out to shake his hand, which is damned odd. "Ms. Power Girl has been telling me some very heartening things about you, Doctor."

"Oh, really?" Arthur asks, looking over at Kara. He didn't think she was capable of such a thing, but apparently miracles can happen after all.

"Please, Jeremy. Just call me Peej," she says, glaring over at Arthur before he can roll his eyes. 

The other man smiles again as he finishes sweeping the paperwork into his briefcase. "Peej, then. Well, if we could just sit down and discuss the nature of this visit…"

"That would be nice," Arthur says, still feeling confused. "Why don't you two head upstairs to work on your homework?" he suggests, and the kids immediately look rebellious.

Imako shakes her head 'no' at him, and Yasu puts his hands on his hips. "I don't _have_ any homework because I was susp-"

"Just _go_ ," Arthur sighs, closing his eyes briefly. When he opens them, they're still standing there. " _NOW!_ " They take off, giggles trailing after them.

Kara looks as if she'd dearly love to say something about the insubordination, but somehow manages to rein herself in. They sit at the table and the caseworker explains that CPS had been notified about a 'potentially hostile home environment' –and, as most supervillains with public identities didn't usually assume guardianship of young children, the situation had been red-flagged. Penworth folds his hands together atop the table. "The children seem rather protective of you, and it's clear you care for them. Ordinarily I'd just file a report and leave it at that, but in light – no pun intended – of your criminal activity I'll have to schedule a follow-up visit in two weeks."

Arthur draws breath to protest, but the other man hurriedly reassures him. "It's just a formality, in case the complainant makes another charge against you."

"And who, exactly, _is_ my accuser? Surely I've the right to know that much," Arthur says.

Penworth clears his throat. "I believe the initial complaint was made by Raiden Tazu, the children's maternal grandfather." 

Of course. The old man couldn't be bothered to visit his grandchildren, let alone _house_ them, yet he's complaining because Arthur's caring for them. Pure rage ignites his power, and he clenches his fists to keep it in check though he knows that his eyes are glowing. "Their father refused Yasu's request that they go live with him," he says through gritted teeth. Penworth scoots his chair back slightly. "We have not heard a thing from Tazu since he attempted to ban me from Kimiyo's funeral."

The man stands up and reaches for his briefcase. "Sadly, it's not uncommon for a relative with a grudge to make accusations…" he gives them more information about the follow-up, still avoiding looking at Arthur, then starts heading for the door with Kara hot on his heels. Apparently dismissed, Arthur slouches into the kitchen and bangs the pots and pans around to work off the worst of his temper by cooking something.

He’s just finished hurling the mixing bowls into the sink when Yasu sneaks back downstairs. “Arthur?”

“Yeah.” He scowls at the countertop, which has the audacity to be dirty.

Yasu sniffs loudly. “Is it cake?”

“Cupcakes.”

“Is… is everything…?”

“Everything’s fine,” he says wearily.

“That guy said someone complained about you. Did he know who did it?”

Kimiyo’s son looks at him – with _her_ eyes – and Arthur swallows his angry retort before lying. “No. No, he didn’t.”

Yasu abruptly looks as if he’d like to cry. “Can I have a cupcake before dinner?”

“I guess so.” Arthur starts cleaning the counter. “There’s something I have to do later – I need you to watch your sister until I get back. You can watch a movie if you’d like.”

“Okay,” Yasu agrees. “Are you going to ask Grandfather why he made that man come here?”

Arthur sighs. “How much did hear?”

“Um. All of it? You’re not, um, going to Tokyo to beat him up…are you?”

Tempting… _so_ tempting. “No. It's something different." He shuts down any further attempts to find out exactly what he's going to be doing, and turns his attention towards figuring out what they're going to have for dinner. 

Yasu drifts off to watch TV after raiding the freezer for ice cream and Imako finally makes the trip downstairs to make sure that no one is going to take them away. She settles in to do her homework at the counter and talk to him about her day, eyeing the oven hopefully. "Are those cupcakes in there? If they're cupcakes, can I have one? What kind are they?"

"Yes they are. Yes you can. Lemon."

"You _are_ going to make frosting, right?"

"Maybe I am, and maybe I _am_."

Imako laughs, and Arthur goes back to slicing mushrooms while she gazes at him speculatively. "Can you shoot laser beams from your eyes?"

"Where did _that_ question come from?"

The little girl rests her chin in her palms. "One of my friends asked and I said I bet you could."

He winks at her. "We can try it out tomorrow after school." 

“Neato,” Imako says, going back to her homework.

“Did someone say ‘laser beams?’” Yasu calls from the couch.

 

Arthur checks over their homework (and reminds them to call if there’s any kind of emergency that _doesn’t_ involve needing more cupcakes) before getting in touch with Calculator. Noah invites him over, so he picks up some coffee before teleporting in. “You’re still drinking decaf, right?” he asks as he hands one of the cups over.

“You know it… oh, hang on a second.” Noah scoots his chair over to the far monitor, frowning at the video feed of the Flash Museum. “I told that numbskull about the new alarm system, yet there he is mooning the wax statue of Jay Garrick and – okay, that is just inap _pro_ priate.”

Arthur makes a mental note to not touch anything the next time he’s at the museum. “I think he’s just drunk, but does he do that often?”

“I try to make sure the cleaning staff knows to spray Lysol on all the exhibits,” Noah confesses. “I can see why you’d want to photocopy your ass and hang the copies all over the place, but going around and putting your balls on everything is a bit much.”

“You know, if you got some stills from the feed you could use them for blackmail. Those statues _are_ incredibly lifelike.”

Calculator grins back at him. “See, this is why I like you.” He swivels his chair back around so that he can still watch the monitors from the corner of his eye. “You want back in, don’t you?”

“That would imply that I’ve actually been _out_.”

“Only because you have been. C’mon, Artie. You needed a break – no shame in that.”

Arthur sips his coffee. “I’m not ashamed. It’s just… I have to be a lot more careful now. I’m responsible for them. They need me.”

“We’re not cut out to be family men, Art. There’s a reason why we leave that to the heroes.” Noah taps out a command on his keyboard, squinting at the central screen. “Still, I know how it was with Kim. I can keep an eye out for prime jobs, in and out with minimum fuss."

"I don't need favors from you," Arthur says. "Just give me the coordinates for the Society meeting."

Noah takes his glasses off, wiping at the lenses. "How'd you know it was happening tonight?"

"I have my sources. Where did you say it was, again…?"

"Old satellite," Noah sighs. "Have fun."

Arthur stands up, reaching out to clasp his friend's forearm in thanks. "Come by on Friday, I'll make you dinner."

"Friday? Ooh, that's-"

"Saturday, then." Calculator nods, and he teleports up to the abandoned satellite.

The sense that has always warned him not to solidify inside a wall – or another person – serves him well now, and Arthur materializes a hairsbreadth away from Doris Zeul. His ex does a spit take all over Poison Ivy. "Jesus _Christ!_ "

"In the flesh. Sorry, Pam."

The redhead glares at him as she attempts to brush the …whatever it is… from her outfit. Personal experience has taught him not to attempt to help her, so he settles upon looking contrite and offering a corner of his cape. "It's good to see you again, Arthur," Giganta says, hooking her arm through his and leading him away from Ivy. "A lot of us weren't sure you were even going to show up."

"C'mon, Dory. I've just been a little busy."

"You _do_ know that Luthor's been kicked off the council?"

"And?"

"And that means there's a spot open, Genius."

"So why don't _you_ fill it? There's only Talia representing the women," Arthur points out. He nods at Doctor Polaris and Vandal Savage as they go past, heading towards the 'briefing room' – folding tables have been set up at one end of the room, and he smiles slightly to see that Calculator is there already. Black Adam, Talia Al'Ghul, and Deathstroke are in a huddle with Doctor Psycho nowhere in sight. Just the thought of Cizko's expression if another woman took a seat on the council makes Arthur smile.

"Edgar would love that," Doris laughs, following his thoughts.

"I have no interest in being on the Council. Oversight was and still is good enough for me."

They find some seats – it looks like someone's been looting a stadium or two – and the meeting gets underway as soon as the five remaining Council members amble towards the tables. The usual bullshit about recognizing the dead and/or incarcerated, and then the induction of a few supervillains Arthur's never even heard of. A group approaches the Council table, and the next hour is devoted to hearing complaints and petitions. "This is just like Judge Judy," Arthur murmurs. 

Doris digs her elbow into his ribs. "Hush."

Up at the front, Noah finally drops his tablet onto the table and clears his throat. "At this time, I'd like to formally announce that Doctor Light has rejoined us after an extended absence. The Council would like him to resume his appointment as Oversight Chairman; show of hands in opposition?"

Quite a few hands go up, but no more than expected – the referendum passes and Arthur relaxes as Talia brings up changes to the information network; Noah looks pissed about it, so he figures it has to be something that means less money in Calculator’s pocket. Doris nudges him when Black Adam tells them that they’re looking for another Council member and all interested persons should apply. “You really think I should?” 

“If you don’t win, just concede gracefully and show that you’re the bigger man,” Arthur teases, earning a bruise when she punches his thigh. “Ouch!”

“Oops,” she says unapologetically. “Seriously though, should I?”

Arthur rubs his leg, wincing. “I think you should go for it, and stop laming your allies.”

“I guess I just don’t know my own strength,” Giganta says with a wide smile. “So, how’s the Dad thing working out for you?”

“It has its ups and downs. A _lot_ of downs, now that I think of it,” he laughs, slipping his fingers behind his belt to dig out his cell and check for any missed calls. Yasu’s sent him a text asking him to bring home milk and doughnuts, and complaining that Imako was ‘whining’ about having to go to bed. “Raiden Tazu called Social Services on me today.”

The meeting’s starting to break up, but Doris stays right where she is. “You’ve got to be kidding me. What happened?”

Arthur sighs. “It made the kids think they’d be taken away. Thankfully everything seems to be okay, but still… I felt like tracking him down and strangling him.”

“You had more self-control than I would, unless you’re still thinking of doing it?”

“No, I think I’ll just let him stew in his own acid.” He abruptly regrets having mentioned it, and stands up. “Look, sorry to burden you. I should get back.”

Doris wraps her fingers around his wrist and pulls him back down easily. “Stay for a bit longer. Artie, I can’t just show up at your doorstep when her children are there with you. I mean, I could but… well, you know how it is.”

He does. “And _you_ know I’d never hold that against you.”

“Oh, God. This is threatening to become one of those ‘I know that you know that I know that you know’ conversations,” she laughs. “I’ve never been any good with kids but I have been good at, well, _you_. If you ever need anything – or someone – give me a call, okay?”

Giganta’s hand slides up to clasp his forearm, and the look in her eyes makes it explicitly clear as to what she means by _someone_. He’d laugh at being offered a booty call but instead of finding it funny Arthur just feels more alone than ever. “Dory, I can’t.”

“She’s not here, honey. I am.”

“It’s too soon. I just… I just can’t.” He looks away from her sympathy and pretends to have lost his phone.

Doris reaches up to pinch his beard, tugging it gently. “Okay.” She lets him get up this time, and stands with him. “I’m worried about you, Artie. Take care of yourself, huh?” Giganta gives him a hug, and kisses him on the mouth. “Remember: call me if you need to. Kim wouldn’t mind.”

_But I would_. “Thanks, Dory. See you around.”

He manages to evade Black Adam when he sees the big man bearing down on him, teleporting away without even having coordinates set firmly in his mind. Arthur realizes with a start that he’s back at the cemetery for the third time today, and slowly walks towards Kimiyo’s grave. The lightbulb he’d placed there is still shining, casting an amber glow over the cherry blossoms carved into her tombstone. It feels odd, standing there in full uniform for the first time. It’s late enough that the grass is already wet with dew, so Arthur takes off his cape and spreads it on the ground to sit upon. “So, I just got propositioned,” he tells the headstone. “Before that, I almost lost the kids. It’s been one hell of a day.”

Arthur sighs and begins to talk, telling her about everything that had happened during the day. “I suppose I’m officially back in business as a criminal. I’ll try my best to stay out of prison; I swear I will. The kids are counting on me… it’s still so strange, being actually needed by someone. Even _you_ never… never _really_ …” he trails off, ducking his head and reaching out to pluck a few blades of grass from the ground. “I should get back.”

He climbs to his feet looking down at the cold marble and, driven by impulse, kneels once more. Arthur places both hands flat on the surface, leaning forward to rest his forehead against the gold-tipped letters that spell out her name. He’d thought that this was supposed to get easier with time, but it hasn’t. Her loss is a wound that just won’t heal, raw and festering. So incredibly painful that all Arthur can do is try not to think of it just so he can function on a daily basis.

He stays there for several minutes, then stands up to leave when he’s at least halfway certain that he’s not going to cry. Remembering Yasu’s text message, Arthur teleports to the 24-hour grocery store closest to the house. He appears in the middle of the dairy aisle and hooks a gallon of 1% out of the refrigerated case, ignoring the startled squawks of the two other customers hanging around the yogurt display. The cashier calmly rings up his purchases, as if it’s completely normal to have a supervillain in full regalia buying food at 2 a.m.

When he gets home, Arthur tosses the box of powdered doughnuts on the counter and puts the milk in the fridge before opening the coat closet and hanging up his belt and helmet. His cape is still damp from the cemetery’s grass and there are some green stains on it, so he dumps it in the laundry basket atop the washer and heads to check on the kids. Imako is fast asleep, rolled in her blanket like an oversized burrito. Yasu’s desk lamp is still on and he’s clutching a worn copy of last year’s Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue; Arthur eases it from Yasu’s grasp and puts it on the floor beside the bed, then pulls the coverlet over his unofficially adopted son. He reaches for the pull switch on the lamp and stands for a few moments in the darkness before leaving the room and closing the door.

He couldn’t feel less like cleaning up the living room, but the mess will just grow exponentially if he doesn’t deal with it now. It doesn’t actually take that long if he teleports around the room, and it’s late/early enough for it to be safe to ‘send’ the trash bag to the dumpster – the last time he’d done it, Arthur hadn’t taken into account that someone else might be emptying their trash at the same time and one of their neighbors had gotten covered in garbage when the bag had appeared over their head.

Arthur makes lunch for Imako and puts it on the top shelf of the refrigerator after packing it into a paper bag and writing her name on the front. He rubs his eyes and stifles a yawn as he makes his way up the stairs to his bedroom, shedding his clothes and ducking into the master bathroom to brush his teeth. He climbs into bed with a weary sigh and a yawn that’s wide enough to make his jaw ache. It’s too dark for Arthur to actually see the ceiling that he’s staring up at but he looks anyway, finally rolling over to stare at the side of the bed that Kimiyo had always favored.

As he hasn’t done in months, Arthur carefully forms a hologram of her that pillows her head on her arms and smiles at him. She’s wearing the dark gold satin nightgown she had on the night before she was murdered, the one that always made her skin glow in warm imitation of her power. He used to dream of her wearing it when he was locked up and after he’d confessed to her about it, Kimiyo had made a special point to wear it when he was released to her once more.

She’d always been better to him than he deserved.

He stares at the hologram until his eyelids grow heavy and he falls asleep, dreaming that Kimiyo is truly there. She bends over him, whispering his name and kissing his mouth. He slides his arms around her and returns her kisses eagerly, enjoying the feel of her satin shift rubbing against his bare body. “I love you,” Arthur says, carding her hair through his fingers and watching her almond-shaped eyes narrow in pleasure. Her hand grips his cock firmly and begins to stroke him before she sits astride him and guides Arthur inside her, making love to him with slow movements of her hips.

Kimiyo brushes her hair from her face and braces her other hand on his stomach as she rides him. The tight clench of her body isn’t nearly as wet as it should be, nor is it very hot, and the slow realization begins to trigger the rise towards wakefulness. “Not yet,” she says, but it doesn’t sound like her voice at all – it’s _his_. Kimiyo digs her fingers into his chest and fucks him faster. She’s so tight. Almost _too_ tight, but it feels so good and it’s been such a long time…

“Almost,” she tells him, again in his own voice, and Arthur comes shuddering to orgasm just as the dream evaporates and he finds the hologram astride his hips. He banishes it with a horrified mental nudge, realizing that he’d been controlling it while he slept. 

Arthur sits up, rubbing his hands over his face. “Jesus.” 

He reaches for something to wipe up the mess he’s made on his stomach, angrily hurling the wadded tissues across the room once he’s done. Falling back against the pillow, Arthur stares up at the ceiling for the second time that night and feels his eyes begin to burn with tears. He’s tried so hard to hold back the misery - every day, it’s a struggle to pretend that life goes on without her – but he just can’t _do_ it tonight. The first tear slides down to dampen his ear, and Arthur weeps as he hasn’t since the night Kim was murdered.

Why couldn’t it have just been _him?_ He had nobody who depended on him, just as he’d said at Kimiyo’s grave, and had always prided himself on his self-reliance. He’d always worked alone, for the most part, and had needed no one until that demon had thrown him into Kimiyo Hoshi’s life. The world wouldn’t have mourned his loss for one second… only Kimiyo might have, but she also would have had her family to distract her. She would’ve gotten over him and moved on with her life.

His is just… _stuck_.

When the storm of his grief has passed, Arthur is left with a sodden pillowcase and a raging headache. The pounding in his head is too painful to just sleep off even though he’s exhausted, so he drags himself out of the bed and into the bathroom for a hot shower. The steam and handful of aspirin he digs out of the medicine cabinet help immeasurably. Arthur powers up to dry himself without having to use a towel and falls back into bed after flipping the pillow.

 

Yasu charging into the room and yelling his name abruptly wakes him from a disturbing dream in which Kimiyo keeps calling to him but no matter how hard he searches, he’s not able to find her. “Arthur! Arthurarthurrrrr!”

Arthur’s startled enough at the interruption to lurch upright and throw out his right hand, his first two fingers glowing with power. Yasu freezes in place, eyes wide.

“Dammit,” Arthur sighs irritably, lowering his arm and flopping back onto the pillow. “It’s called ‘knocking.’”

“Sorry.”

“Hmph.” He grabs the cover and pulls it up over his head.

“Would that have burned a hole right through me?”

Arthur closes his eyes. “What d’you want.”

“Since I don’t have school, can I go see a movie?”

“The theater doesn’t open until ten.”

“It’s almost two.”

That brings Arthur out from under the covers once more. “ _What?_ ” He looks around wildly for the alarm clock, and Yasu starts laughing as soon as Arthur realizes that it’s only 7:30 a.m. 

“Ha ha! Got you!”

“You little _rip_ – get out of here,” Arthur bellows, searching for something to throw.

Yasu retreats to the hallway, still giggling. “Can I eat the rest of the doughnuts?”

“Wash them down with some Drano for all I care!”

“So… that’s a yes?”

“ _Go away!_ ”

He dives back under the covers and waits until he hears the door close and the cackling recedes down the hallway, then stretches out with a sigh. The next time he opens his eyes, it’s half past ten and from the sounds of televised moaning he can tell that Yasu has discovered the Playboy channel. Arthur sits up, stretches, and brings his feet down onto the floor with an intentionally loud thump. The next sound he hears is Yasu changing the channels hurriedly and by the time he gets dressed and goes downstairs, the kid’s watching Animal Planet. “How’d you get around the parental lock, you raging pervert?”

Yasu gives him his best ‘innocent’ look. “Your hair looks like you were attacked by a leaf-blower.”

They spend the day cleaning; rather, _Arthur_ spends the day cleaning while Yasu pretends to catch up on his homework. All too soon (but not soon enough when you’re trying to scrub the inside of an oven) it’s time to pick up Imako and some arnica for Yasu’s black eye – the last thing he needs is for someone to call the cops on him for it. The rest of the week is spent either hanging around the house making sure Yasu is all caught up on his schoolwork, or ‘porting to Central City where a few of the Rogues show the boy some self-defense moves… it’s nothing Arthur couldn’t show him, but having the other supervillains interact with Yasu helps him feel like a member of the group. Of course while they’re in town, they go to the ‘adult entertainment’ store but skip the strip joint this time around.

When Yasu’s suspension period ends and he goes back to school, Arthur’s a little surprised by how much he misses the company. To keep busy, he gets a few jobs that Calculator pulls for him – he doesn’t remember the commission ever being so high but he also doesn’t want to annoy Noah by complaining too loudly, so he keeps his mouth shut. Returning to Oversight helps him catch up with what’s happening with the other members of the Society, though he _does_ have to endure a seemingly unending talk with Black Adam who feels as if it’s his job to provide grief counseling. The whole thing makes Arthur so uncomfortable, it’s an unbelievable relief to finally escape when Talia al’Ghul shows up and interrupts them. She immediately offers Arthur coffee, and he throws his hands up defensively as he sidles past her; Talia’s never let him forget about the time he’d been drunk (and stupid) enough to make a pass and she’d dumped the entire potful of hot coffee into his lap.

He’s _pretty_ sure she’s forgiven him for it, but with Talia you just never know.

Two more weeks pass, filled with a steady stream of work that doesn’t get him thrown in prison, and he’s getting ready to pick the kids up from school when it happens. 

Arthur digs in the coat closet trying to find his boots, unearthing a pile of candy wrappers and shoes with only one mate. “Come _on_ , they were _here_ …!” He lets out an irritated huff and leans back into the closet – this time, he’s finally able to see his boots which are trapped beneath the vacuum cleaner. “About fucking _time_. What are they doing h-”

A white-hot thread of energy punches between his shoulder blades like a bullet, knocking him face first into the closet. His body’s natural defense is to power up, and Arthur rolls out of the closet onto his back as quick as he can while flooding the entire apartment with blinding light. It takes him a few seconds to realize that nobody’s there, and a few more seconds to figure out what had happened; the energy in his body all belongs to him, and _all_ of it is there... which means that, somehow, the energy that had been maintaining the light bulb at Kimiyo’s grave has come back to him. Something has broken his bond to it, and it rebounded like a snapped rubber band.

Arthur stays sitting on the floor for several minutes, then slowly gets to his feet and reaches back into the closet to retrieve his boots. After he pulls them on, he texts Yasu and asks him to ride the bus to Imako’s school and wait for him there. Blindly grabbing at the coat rack and trying not to think about what this means, Arthur teleports to the cemetery. His worst fears are realized almost immediately.

The rose marble headstone has been tipped over backwards, several cracks snaking up through the carved letters of her name, and the shards of the light bulb crunch underfoot as Arthur steps forward slowly. _Oh, my God_. The headstone he could have dealt with, but _this_ … he doesn’t turn when he hears running feet coming up the path. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask you-”

He feels like he’s going to be sick. “ _Who did this?_ ” 

The caretaker recognizes him now, and it’s clear that the scene in front of them horrifies him, but he doesn’t stop trying to make Arthur back up. “Doctor, I really need you to step back. I’ve called the police and they’ll need to examine the… the… well, they need to look around first.”

“Didn’t _anyone_ see…?” Aren’t there cameras? Why aren’t there any cameras?

The other man’s hand slides around his arm, and it’s only then that Arthur realizes that he’s swaying on his feet. “I think you should sit down for a little bit, Doctor.”

“I… I have to pick up…I have to go,” Arthur says, not even aware that his free hand has risen up to rub at his mouth. “Her children.”

The custodian says something else to him, something about the police, but all he can do is stand there and stare at the torn jumble of dirt and grass where someone or something has reached in and taken Kimiyo’s body out of her grave. Dislodging the hand still on his arm, Arthur teleports to the elementary school and nearly materializes halfway inside the chain link fence surrounding the playground. There are still plenty of kids and teachers around so that’s good, he supposes. He’s not nearly as late as he thought he was, and right over there are the kids. Arthur lifts a hand to signal to them, still trying to overcome the shock of what he’s just seen.

_They can’t know about this. I can’t tell them_ , he thinks as they run up to him. “Onii-sama, Yasu said my hair looks dumb,” Imako reports.

“Only because it does,” Yasu says, and then frowns as a reprimand isn’t immediately voiced. “You okay?”

Arthur takes a deep breath and pastes a sickly-looking smile onto his face. “Fine.”

“You don’t look fine,” Imako says in a small voice, looking up at him worriedly.

“I…” he casts about for a plausible excuse. “I fell down earlier, and hit my head. I’m a little lightheaded, but I’ll be fine.”

Imako looks relieved. “Okay.”

Yasu laughs. “You fell, huh? Better be careful – old people always fall and break their hips and stuff.”

“Mmm,” is all Arthur says in response, looking around. “Do you have everything?”

They do, so he reaches out to touch them so they can ‘port back home. He passes the rest of the afternoon in a fog, and the shock slowly begins to clear when the police arrive to question him. Telling the kids that it’s supervillain business (and reassuring them that he’s not going to be arrested for anything), Arthur sends them upstairs to work on homework and watch television on the smaller set he purchased the week before. Then he sits at the kitchen table and draws circles on the wood with his fingertips as the two officers begin to ask their questions: did he know what happened, how did he get there so quickly, did he know of anyone who might have wanted to exhume Kimiyo’s body.

“The custodian told us that you’d placed a light bulb atop Mrs. Hoshi’s tombstone. Why did you do that?” the bald cop asks.

“Why not?” Arthur retorted calmly.

The two policemen looked at each other, then changed the angle of their approach. “The bulb was floating, is that correct?”

“It is.”

“It was also, uh, _shining_. Did it shine only at night, or all the time?” 

When Arthur only looks at him silently, his partner takes over. “What we’re trying to get at here is verification that you kept the bulb suspended and burning over the gravesite at all times.”

“Consider it verified.”

“How exactly did you do that, Doctor?”

Anger is slowly seeping in to replace the shock. “A part of my awareness constantly maintained the placement and incandescence of the light bulb. Something happened to break the connection, and I knew of it immediately,” he adds because they’re gearing up to ask about it anyway and he wants this over with. As soon as the kids are in bed, he’s going to go back and find whoever looted Kimiyo’s grave. “I don’t know who did this, or why. All I can tell you is that I had nothing to do with it.”

The second cop makes some notes, even though her partner has a tape recorder in his hand. “Is there anyone who can vouch for your whereabouts today?”

Arthur invites them to question the neighbors and they make a few more vaguely threatening statements before he reminds them that Kimiyo’s children are in his care and could emerge from their rooms at any moment. The cops stay for ten more minutes, going over the questions again and again as if they’re trying to trip him up somehow, but finally they’re gone and Arthur calls the kids down.

“So what _was_ that about?” Yasu asks, looking around for the universal remote.

“They thought I might have done something.”

Imako slaps a coloring book down on the kitchen counter and hops up onto one of the barstools. “Did you?”

“I do lots of things, but I didn’t do _that_ ,” Arthur replies, swallowing down the anger that’s threatening to activate his metagene and incinerate the kitchen cabinets (or worse). “Did you finish your homework, or would you like me to help you with anything?” He moves over to the sink and places his hands flat against the metal bottom – his palms sink into it as he struggles to control himself. Imako tells him that she’s all finished, and tattles on Yasu because her brother hadn’t done anything but watch the cartoon channel. Arthur closes his eyes and breathes deeply, telling himself that his rage will have to wait – losing control will accomplish nothing but terrifying, and perhaps hurting, the two children he’s now responsible for. When he pulls his hands out of the sink, the imprints stay molded into the metal.

He looks over at Imako, who’s hunched over her coloring book with her tongue poking out of her mouth and a look of extreme concentration on her face. “Arthur, what’s for dinner?” Yasu calls from the living room.

“I don’t know; what are you planning to make for us?”

“Aw, _man_.”

“Bring your algebra book over here so you don’t spend all night pretending to have your assignment done,” Arthur instructs, opening the fridge and looking for something to cook.

“Awww,” Yasu groans again, dragging himself over. “Can’t you just do it for me?”

“Why would I want to do that?”

“You’re a supervillain. You’re _supposed_ to do stuff like that!”

Arthur finds some leftover chicken hiding beneath a package of tortillas, and tosses the container onto the counter. “Villainy doesn’t necessarily mean helping minors cheat on their math homework.”

“I bet that’s where it all starts, though,” Yasu says triumphantly. Arthur turns around to deliver a quelling glare, and he sighs dramatically before opening the textbook. “ _Fine_. We’re factoring numbers and doing scientific notation.”

“Is that all? That’s easy.”

“Hmph.”

He’s multitasking, cooking dinner and drawing an advanced equation in the air for Yasu, when the phone rings. “You just have to remember that _this_ step isn’t really necessary; math is a lot more fun if you take shortcuts… hello?” Arthur says, turning back to the stove and reaching for the heat dial of the burner he’s using.

_“Good, you’re home_ ,” Kara says, her voice sounding strange. “ _Don’t go anywhere, okay? She was here for a shower, and I gave her your address._ ”

Arthur lifts his shoulder to hold the phone against his ear, adjusting the heat and transferring the lid of the pan onto the potholder. “What are you talking about? Gave _who_ the address?” It had better not be those cops again…

“ _Just stay there, and try not to have a heart attack_.”

She hangs up, and Arthur frowns as he slides the cell phone back into the charger. “I think Aunt Kara has finally lost what few marbles she possesses,” he announces to Imako, who glances up from her coloring book to raise her eyebrows at him. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

The little girl doesn’t take long before deciding on her bribe. “I want a Bundt cake.”

Yasu takes the bait and slews around in his chair. “Choose something _good!_ Why do you always pick Bundt cake? They’re gross.”

“Thank you,” Arthur says in as quelling a manner as he’s able. 

As usual, no one listens. “I pick it because then you don’t eat it all, just like a pig! You’re like an Angry Birds pig! The ones with the stupid moustaches!”

“I’m not stupid,” Yasu yells back. “Arthur, she just called me _stupid_.”

“Actually, she just called you a fat green pig. You _do_ eat everything that’s not tied down,” he points out.

“Thanks a lot,” Yasu fumes.

“Any time. Put your stuff away; time to eat.” He moves over to get the plates from the cupboard and, when he turns back, Kimiyo is standing in the living room looking at him. The plates slip from his suddenly nerveless fingers and shatter on the tiled floor. He can’t breathe, can’t move, can’t do anything but stare at her as his heart constricts in his chest. The kids, at first startled by the crash of the dishes, look back and their screams of joyous disbelief slowly loosen the shock that holds him motionless. 

Kimiyo gathers them into her arms and everyone’s crying but him. All he can think is that it’s his fault, and he’s not really needed anymore. Arthur glances back at them huddled together, and leaves. 

He goes into the backyard, nodding woodenly to a passing neighbor, and stands there looking up at the sky. Kimiyo is alive. Maybe he’s just dreaming; he’s had countless dreams in which she comes back to him, and waking to reality seems unnecessarily cruel. 

She’s alive.

It must be a dream. Not that it’s totally unheard of, in their line of work, for a person to return from the dead because he’s actually done it. It’s just that in Kimiyo’s case, death had seemed so… _final_. He’d never entertained the mere possibility that she would return to them.

From behind him, he can hear Kim reassuring her children that she’ll be right back; if they don’t believe her, they can stay there and watch. The soft swish of footsteps in grass, then the touch of a small hand on his back makes him tremble. “Miko,” he says, but the rest of the words – what can he _say_ to her? – crowd in his throat and he can’t continue.

Kimiyo circles around in front of him and he’s amazed at having forgotten how tiny she is. She reaches for his hands and looks down at them before tilting her head back to look up into his face. “Did you miss me?”

The ache in his chest is nearly unbearable and his eyes fill with tears as he nods, still unable to trust his voice. Arthur curls his fingers around hers and exerts gentle pressure hoping she won’t pull back, but she hurls herself at him and he has an armful of the woman he loves more than life.

“I missed you so much,” she whispers against his neck, burrowing close. Kimiyo wriggles suddenly, and he lifts her higher in his arms. She’s so _small_. 

Arthur seals his mouth over his, feeling her hands running over his shoulders and combing through his hair as she returns the kiss. What finally reassures him that he’s not dreaming is the warm glow of his metagene activating at the strong emotional response to having her near. Hers is active as well, and the familiar stroke of her power against his makes him crush her to his chest. "Oh, Miko. You're really here." 

Kimiyo's fingers dig into his sides. "I really am."

He teleports them back inside and as the kids swarm her again, he leans back against the couch with his family in his arms. “Every day, I watched over all three of you and tried to find a way back,” Kimiyo tells them. "I was with you always." 

"Were you there when he had Community Watch?" Yasu asks suddenly, making Arthur sigh at the reminder. "Did you see how mad he was?"

Kim laughs, reaching a hand up to touch Arthur's cheek fondly. "Even then, I was there." He rests his chin on the top of her head and closes his eyes, letting the sound of her voice wash through him as she praises the children for their scholastic accomplishments and asks them questions about their new friends. When the kids have calmed down enough to remember that they're hungry, Arthur disengages from her reluctantly.

Dinner's gone cold so he reheats it while keeping an eye on Kimiyo, afraid that she'll vanish if he looks away. She divides her attention between the three of them effortlessly, favoring him with loving glances as she murmurs to Imako and strokes Yasu's hair. Arthur doesn't feel like eating but Kimiyo bullies him into it, making the children laugh as she sits on his knee and waves his fork in his face until he opens his mouth obediently. 

When their mother has received the grand tour and it’s far past their bedtime, the kids drag their feet up the stairs to their rooms after they've made Arthur promise to call their school and have them excused. Arthur finishes cleaning up as Kimiyo puts them to bed, and is wiping his hands on a towel when she comes up behind him and slips her arms about his waist. He can feel her body press up against his and, with no witnesses to shame him into withholding emotion, he doesn’t stop his eyes from filling with tears. "I thought I'd never see you again. Never touch you again. Never-" Arthur cuts the sentence short, bracing both hands against the sink and ducking his head. "Oh, God. I'm so _sorry_."

Kimiyo's arms tighten. "I know, Artie. I know you are." She presses her forehead against his spine. "It was hard, being here yet _not_ here at the same time. I was so angry at you for not trusting me with the truth about Libra… but I saw how it affected you. I was terrified that you might…harm… yourself, and then the Spectre came for you. Artie, what happened with Hal?"

He draws in a startled breath and turns to look down at her. "You don't know?"

"No." Kimiyo shakes her head, taking his hand and pulling him in the direction of the master bedroom gently. "Come here," she says as soon as they walk through the door, and he takes her into his arms. "Do you want to talk about it, or…?"

Arthur's suddenly aware that her breathing has changed, and her dark eyes are gleaming with power that's barely leashed. "Maybe…maybe later," he says, his own pulse speeding as he realizes what she wants. What they both need. Reaching a hand out to lock the door, he carries her to the bed and lays her down atop the covers. It's only as he skims his hands up her belly, hooking his thumbs under the hem of her shirt that he realizes she'd been wearing the exact same outfit the day she'd died. This one bore only the faintest traces of dirt.

The collar of his shirt rips as he tears it off himself and his jeans only make it down to his knees before Kimiyo pulls him back atop her. They're both far too impatient for anything but immediate union, and it's not long after Arthur slides into her and lifts her legs around his waist that they find release and relief in each other's arms. "Sorry," he mutters against her neck. "I'll do better next time."

Kimiyo laughs, giving the hair at the nape of his neck a tug. "I think we both had some sort of unrealistic expectation about candles and hours of lovemaking."

"I could go for hours," Arthur says indignantly, raising his head to look down at her. "Just… not right now."

She laughs again, tracing along his left eyebrow. "We have time for slow and sweet." Kimiyo raises her legs higher, hooking her ankles together so that her heels rest on his tailbone. Arthur keeps himself braced on his elbows so he doesn't squish her, and lays his head back down after kicking his pants off. "I missed this," Kimiyo murmurs to him, stroking his shoulders.

"Me, too."

They lay together, still entwined, saying nothing more until her nails scrape along Arthur's scalp and he starts to get hard again. Kimiyo makes a low, purring sound as she wriggles beneath him in an attempt to get comfortable. "Hours, right?"

Arthur rolls onto his side, bringing her with him. "I'll do my best," he promises, reaching a hand down to grasp the base of his cock as he pulls out. Kimiyo begins to protest his withdrawal just as he pushes back in, giving her several shallow thrusts before plunging in deep… and pulling out again.

"That is _evil_ ," Kimiyo whines at him. "Arthur, _please_."

"Hours, right?"

"I hate you so much right now."

He laughs and teases her a few moments more, then sheathes himself within her and rocks his hips slowly. Kimiyo hooks her heel around his thigh, sighing out his name. They move together, and this time their powers have a chance to warm to the task – heat washes through his body in response to the brightening of Kimiyo’s skin. "How about now?" he murmurs, splaying his hand on the small of her back and pushing his power into her body in time with his thrusts.

"Wh…what…?" She arches back with a cry as Arthur rolls them again, shoving in deeper.

Arthur powers up fully when Kimiyo does, extending a shield around the bed and ‘tying’ it off so that it's self-sustaining. He stretches out over her, licking and sucking at the side of her neck in the manner that she likes. Kimiyo writhes as he mouths her pulse point, tugging at his hair and moaning in Japanese. She’s so wet, it’s making him crazy. Her skin, already luminescent with desire, brightens even further as he makes love to her – Arthur marvels anew at how well they fit together, how exquisite it feels as their powers mingle. “So good,” he sighs, sheathing his cock inside her and working his hips. “So…fucking… _good_.”

This time it truly _is_ slow and sweet, just like she said. Their powers twine and caress even as they do and inside their cocoon of light, time ceases to have meaning. Arthur can feel the beating of her heart echo through him, his own pulse slowing to match with hers. Kimiyo gazes at him through eyes narrowed with pleasure, her mutters a mixture of love words and obscenity. When he pulls out and slides down the bed, Kim only protests until she realizes his intent. “Please, yes,” she says breathlessly, spreading her legs for him with a readiness that makes his cock twitch. Her labia are swollen with arousal, and she gives a shuddering moan as Arthur begins to lick. He presses his mouth against her folds, licking and sucking at the sensitive flesh; her cries grow louder as he runs his tongue over her clitoris, rutting against the bed sheets. “Yes… oh, Arthur, _yes_ …” her fingers tug at his hair, hooking the shell of his ear to pull him closer. "Mmmm, right there."

He licks her until she's thrashing and wild-eyed. Sliding a hand down to the mattress, Arthur moves up and lifts her legs over his shoulders before entering her once more. The soft light surrounding them brightens until he can hardly see, and when Kimiyo climaxes he's more than ready to follow her. The pleasure is nearly unbearable, so sharp that that it hurts. She gasps and shudders, wriggling beneath him and clawing at his shoulders as her body tightens around him. It's the first time in so, so _long_ that he's seen her like this – and felt like this himself – and he fights for a few moments' respite so he can stay in this moment just a little while longer. 

He sucks his bottom lip through his teeth and groans at the feel of her power flowing through him. Kimiyo is still thrashing, tightening around him spasmodically, and Arthur grasps her hips for leverage. He surges forward, surrendering to the urge to thrust hard and deep. Their bodies connect with the sharp slap of bare, heated skin and soon it's more than he can take. “Oh, fuck, _nnnnngh…!_ ”

The light-energy roiling in his body reaches for an outlet as he experiences his own climax, and Arthur can only pray that the shield is strong enough to hold. His concern is fleeting because even though they've already taken the edge off when they made love earlier, the full emotional impact to their separation and reunion had yet to be felt. Now, it's overwhelming. The room is so bright that even _he_ can't see and the blood roaring in his ears deafens him as he comes, gripping Kimiyo hard enough to leave bruises. The powerful surge of energy finds a weak spot in the shield, disintegrating the bed beneath them and setting the carpet aflame as they crash to the floor in a tangle of limbs.

Arthur thrusts and strains against her, reveling in his orgasm. _This_ is how it should be between them, love and light and… "Fire," Kimiyo gasps out.

Oh, no.

Dragging himself off of her and sitting up, he gestures towards the smoke alarm and the main panel pops off in a shower of sparks. The fire is beginning to spread past its initial circle, so Arthur dissolves the already weakened shield and places another down to trap the flames while Kimiyo climbs to her feet and goes to the master bathroom. She emerges a few seconds later with an armful of wet towels, which she places on the floor. After they're both sure that no hot spots remain and there's no danger of the fire starting up again, Arthur leads her to the far (undamaged) corner of the room where he spreads out the extra bedding from the closet.

Kimiyo sinks down gracefully, eyeing him. "I remember when that sort of thing used to happen all the time," she laughs. "I guess we need a new bed."

"Sorry," he says sheepishly.

She shakes her head, still smiling. "We can choose one together. Come here." He drops down next to her and winces as he bruises his tailbone on… why is there a _wrench_ on the floor? Kimiyo makes a sympathetic noise and pats his leg before snuggling against his side, yawning. "I'll kiss it better in the morning. Love you." The shock of nearly setting the house on fire has effectively cleared his head of its post-orgasmic haze, so Arthur settles back and strokes her hair while Kimiyo's breathing slows into the rhythm of sleep. 

It's been too long since he's slept with her in his arms. Pressing his lips against her forehead, Arthur reaches his other arm around her and simply enjoys being able to hold her again. When the sky begins to lighten at dawn and he's sure that she won't simply vanish, Arthur stops fighting sleep and closes his eyes.

He's slowly brought back to consciousness by the feel of Kimiyo's hands stroking his stomach and thighs, and her mouth… "Mmm."

"Good morning," she says, words muffled by her current activity.

"You shouldn't talk with your mouth full," Arthur replies drowsily. “It’s not polite.” She drags her teeth over the tip of his cock in warning and he closes his eyes again, smiling. Kimiyo works him with her lips and tongue until she climbs up and settles astride, by which time he's fully alert and more than ready to be an active partner in their lovemaking. After she's ridden him to climax (which is less destructive this morning), they trade kisses and jokes concerning morning breath until Arthur teleports them into the bathroom for a shower.

He’s sorely tempted to christen the bathtub, but Kimiyo spies his leer and sprays water in his face. “Brush your teeth,” she commands, dropping the washcloth over his erection as if it’s a towel bar and slipping out past the shower curtain. 

Giving her a few minutes of privacy, Arthur shaves using the small mirror he keeps in the white plastic shower caddy and quickly washes his hair before stepping out to look for a towel. Kimiyo already has one folded beneath her arms and tosses one to him as she brushes her teeth; he wraps it around his hips and digs in the cabinet for a new toothbrush. Their eyes meet in the mirror and Arthur waggles his eyebrows at her as soon as he puts the brush in his mouth – soon they’re making faces at each other and laughing like adolescents. Kimiyo laughs so hard, foam runs from the corner of her mouth and Arthur nearly chokes upon seeing it. 

Back in the bedroom he hauls on a pair of jeans and is rummaging through the closet for something that might fit her when the door bursts open and the kids come hurtling in. "What happened to the carpet?" Yasu asks, looking around. "Where'd the bed go?"

"Your mother decided that she didn't like it, so she burned it. I guess this means we're going shopping," Arthur says, tossing Kimiyo a spare suit-bottom and a shirt that shrunk in the wash.

"Blůdhaven Bombers?" Kimiyo asks as she heads back to the bathroom.

"Our basketball team," Imako explains through the door. "The color guard is called the _Bomb Squad_. Onii-sama bought a shirt because the PDA said he had to."

"P _T_ A."

"That's what I said. PDA."

"That shirt cost me thirty bucks," Arthur says in renewed outrage. "I don't know where they get off charging that much for something even LexMart would be ashamed to sell…"

Yasu looks up from prodding at a burnt patch of carpet with his toes. "Speaking of school, did you call yet?"

Arthur promises to do so immediately, and grabs a plain white shirt as he heads out to the kitchen. He doesn't feel up to explaining exactly _why_ they're not going to school, so settles for saying that both kids have doctor's appointments (which is kind of true) and schedules a meeting with each child's principal for later in the week; Kimiyo will want to put in an appearance after she's settled in with them. He puts the phone down and rests both hands flat on the counter, gazing towards the bedroom. It feels much too good to be true.

He starts on breakfast, and is setting out plates when the children come in the kitchen with their mother in tow. Kimiyo smiles at him as he places a mug of tea in front of her. “We’ll have to get you a frilly apron that says ‘Kiss The Cook.’”

“You don’t have to wait until I have an _apron_ ,” Arthur hints, and Kimiyo laughs as she stands on her toes to kiss him on the mouth.

Yasu wrinkles his nose. “Can’t you get a room or something?”

“We did, but you’re in it.” Arthur looks over at him. “Just be grateful that I didn’t slip her some tongue while you were watching.”

“GROSS.”

“Arthur _Light!_ ”

Imako frowns, looking around at everyone. “Who’s slipping on a tongue?”

“Uh…” Arthur glances down at Kimiyo, and then quickly steps back into the kitchen. “Ask your mother. Hey, who’s hungry? I made pancakes!”

Kimiyo herds them towards the table and comes back to peer into all the cupboards, ignoring Arthur’s pointing finger until she finds the plates by herself. She sets the table while he leans on the counter to watch how precisely the forks and knives are placed – Arthur’s tempted to make a crack about folding the napkins into cranes, but stops himself from doing so when she glances over her shoulder at him as if she knows exactly what he’s thinking.

She probably does.

After taking her to the nearest shopping center for clothes that actually fit (she keeps the Blůdhaven Bombers shirt while he pretends to be annoyed at having to carry her bags) and ordering a new bed, they spend the day at the park like a normal family. Yasu announces that he wants a hot dog for lunch, but it has to be from the same vendor they’d gotten lunch from on the day they moved into their new place – Kimiyo holds Arthur’s hand tightly as she watches her son say that, this time, his mom wants one too. 

The kids go back to school the next morning so after Arthur teleports them to their respective classes, he returns to spend the day in bed with Kimiyo. This time, they’re a bit more careful and the mattress only gathers a few singes around the edge. During ‘rest periods’ they talk about starting their life together – again – and Arthur doesn’t miss the fact that Kimiyo isn’t very forthcoming regarding her side of their ordeal. Considering he’s not eager to confide in her about what the Spectre had shown him, Arthur decides not to press the issue. When she’s ready to talk about, she’ll tell him whatever she wants him to know – until then, he’ll just be grateful for the chance to hold her again.

Her crowd gets in touch with her on the third day, and Arthur endures a steady flow of traffic through their living room as different superheroes stop by to welcome her back. Power Girl stays the longest, of course, but he doesn’t mind her so much anymore – not that he’d ever admit it aloud. Arthur has a feeling that Kara will know more about what Kimiyo has gone through before he does and while he’s not exactly sure how to feel about that, maybe it’s a good thing… she might need a confidante that’s removed from the situation far enough to be able to listen more or less objectively.

Whomever is in charge of League public relations these days has gotten the police off his back, though Kara makes sure to inform him that she still thinks he’s a creep and his facial hair looks stupid. He makes a crack about her being the leading authority in stupidity, she offers to break his nose, and Kim shoos her out the door before Power Girl purposely renders him sterile.

They have a full hour before the kids are due home from school, and a very good idea of how they should use the time remaining. “I guess that’s something I’ll have to get used to all over again,” Arthur says as he hauls her off to bed. “Sharing you,” he clarifies when she gives him a puzzled look. “I don’t want to let you out of my sight for an instant.”

Kimiyo tightens her arms around his neck. “I don’t think I will return to work right away – maybe I’ll just stay home with you all day. You’ll get tired of me in no time at all!”

“Never,” Arthur promises her.

“We’ll have to get used to living as a family. It’s been a long time since my children have had two parents, and our styles are a little…different.”

“Is that bad?”

Kimiyo smiles slightly. “Let’s just say I wouldn’t describe the difference between an enzyme and a hormone _quite_ like you did last week.”

“Well, I never _have_ heard an enzyme.”

“You’re terrible.”

“That’s not what you said last night…”

“Of course I didn’t say it. It might have hurt your feelings.” Kimiyo laughs and pulls his head down to hers, not letting him up for air until they’re both breathless and panting. Her right hand begins to do some _very_ interesting things to him. “As far as _sharing_ goes… well. You have me all to yourself for the next thirty minutes.” 

Arthur would rather have her all to himself for the rest of his life, but he doesn’t say so aloud. He’ll have to search for the right ring, not to mention ask her children if they’d mind… but there will be plenty of time for him to do that. Right now, he has more pressing concerns.

After all, she’s been brought back from the dead – what more could possibly happen?


End file.
